


Mother Knows Best

by Shigan



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Drama, F/F, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Mother-Daughter Relationship, bodyguard cassandra, naval cassandra, only the best for cassandra, rapunzel trying her best
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:27:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 44,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27551515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shigan/pseuds/Shigan
Summary: During a fateful night, one mother abandons her child for the vanity of eternal youth while another steps up and changes destiny forever. A girl grows into a young woman and a loving hand offered in a time of need makes all the difference.Set in an divergence universe where Arianna did not stay a mother in grief. Cassandra grows up with two parental figures, receiving the support she needed and her military path seems set. Then, the princess is found and the currents of destiny turn again.Cassandra and Rapunzel come together in a different timeline where much is different, but what truly matters remains very much the same.
Relationships: Cassandra/Rapunzel (Disney: Tangled)
Comments: 144
Kudos: 332





	1. Swordling

**Author's Note:**

> Beta: Cyn
> 
> Meant to be part of Here, The River Divides, but after a certain amount of pages a short cannot longer be called a short.
> 
> This is my best version of Cassandra. This is Cass if the people surrounding her had respected her dreams and goals and supported her to achieve them.

**If Arianna had been more than a grieving mother**

-18 years ago-

  
  


The tension in the room was hot with grief and fierce anger.

Amidst an overflowing desk of documents, troop arrangements and an extensive map of Corona and the immediate land beyond, King Frederic der Sonne of Corona stared down his Captain of the Guard as if the man had told him the world was coming to an end. The king stood in his royal attire, but even the greenest pages could see that the jacket was askew and his shirt was rumpled. His normally calm, soft-spoken demeanor was pale and stiff from the many sleepless nights he had endured through a time that should have been his happiest. The captain, on the other hand, stood his ground, body erect in salute, impassive in the face of his liege’s rage. He too, was broken in a way, for he had sworn his King a service but failed in his quest.

“What do you _mean_ , captain. _How can she be gone!?_ ” The King bellowed, his chest rose and shrunk in large gasps as his knuckles turned white against wood by pure force. His eyes were bulging as he towered over his most trusted soldier and friend. 

The captain’s gaze was downcast, then he explained again. “We identified and found the culprit’s home and gave chase. She cut us off by sabotaging a bridge however, and took off with the princess. When we finally made it across, she was already gone.”

“ _Were there no reinforcements!?_ ”

“The troops are still searching, your majesty. We are covering the woods beyond, and will be doing so through the night.”

“Answer my question, soldier!” 

“... The secondary teams were not in time to intercept her, sir. I am truly sorry.”

A cry, bordering wail, broke from the man. A thunderous crack made all present cover out of instinctual fear as the King hit his large fists against the desk, sending paper, inkwells and other royal accessories to the floor with a mighty shattering sound. For a few long moments he stood, a great, hulking shadow, simply breathing and daring anyone present to move.

A small, pitiful whimper broke the ominous silence.

“The girl?” The King demanded, motioning to the tiny dark-haired figure in the corner. Huddled on the floor with her knees pulled tightly to her chin, as if she was trying to make herself disappear. 

The captain paused, hesitating for a moment on how to proceed. He looked over at the child nervously, his face mired in sympathy. 

“We believe her to be the culprit’s own child. She was left behind when the kidnapper chose flight.” He said, and regretted it instantly when his words were met with a quiet, heartbroken sob.

“Lock her up then. Maybe we can use her as bait, if the kidnapper should return to collect her own brood. Send out word that we have her.” The King hissed and glared at the small shadow in the room. The captain looked aghast.

“Your majesty, surely you can’t mean to- ? Sir, while we all grieve for the loss of the princess surely this cannot be the way? She is a _chil- ”_

 _“You will do no such thing, Frederic.”_

The escalating argument was cut at the root by the new voice. Both men turned around to the sight of the queen who had quietly entered the room. Arianna, with red, slightly swollen eyes, and looking as stricken as her husband still looked every bit the queen. Composed and calm, she walked to the center of the room and stood in front of her husband, angry defiance in her face.

“Dear, I understa- ”

“No, Frederic. This is not a discussion.” 

“But-”

“We will not cast hurt and punishment upon a child to recompense for the loss of _our daughter._ ” Arianna commanded with a finality so severe the captain felt like he had been struck across the face. 

Husband and wife stared at each other. The captain swallowed looked between them in tense trepidation. 

“So be it then.” The King let out a deep sigh and backed away, he stormed out of the office. The captain let out a deep breath of relief and nodded to the queen before excusing himself to follow his King. 

The room fell quiet, the tension evaporating like the snuff of a candle and Arianna now stood alone in her husband’s vast study, reports and stationary littering the floor.

Well, almost alone.

She turned to the small girl in the corner, and while her heart sank with the weights of a thousand sorrows she somehow managed to choke out a brittle if not genuine smile. The child, a girl, was small for her age. Dark, unruly hair crowned a pale, apple-cheeked face.

“Hello, little one.” The girl let out another wet sob, covering her face with tiny hands. “It seems like we both have been doing a whole lot of crying today.” Arianna said gently. She reached out her arms and lifted the small, warm body into her arms. “Why are you sad, my sweet?”

“I lost my mama.” The girl sniffled, not meeting her eyes.

“And I lost my daughter.” Arianna said, letting the worry and grief cut through her like knives.

“Oh.” The girl replied after a few moments, then started crying anew.

“What a pair we make.” The queen mumbled and tucked the girl against her shoulder, letting both their heartbreaks have its due.

***

The outer garden of the castle was empty enough for a leisurely stroll at mid-afternoon as the sun broke through the clouds. Most of the castle’s inhabitants were busy with their daily tasks. Queen Arianna stepped through the well-kept gravel path with brisk, determined steps, followed by the dour, hulking figure of second-governess of the court. Unlike the governess however, the queen was doing her best to hide a small smile behind a practiced mask.

“Your majesty, I am sorry, but I simply do not know what to do about her.” The older woman sighed with great trepidation. “Her work is excellent when she applies herself, but every second day, we have to expend at least two maids to look for her.”

“I see, thank you Grete.” Arianna answered. “Leave this to me then, I shall not keep you away from your duties. I suspect it will not be as hard to find her as to convince her to come along, and I’m confident about my own skills in that.” 

Grete looked uncertain for a few seconds, the lines in her face tensed with uncertainty before speaking up. “I know your worry, my lady. She is as of yet doing well with the other children. I will relay her updates directly to you as you wished.”

Arianna nodded, grateful for the older woman’s discretion as they parted ways. She entered an older part of the garden, with tall hedges and stone paths lined with tall balustrades overhung by thick roses. It was a place with less open spaces, with plenty of shade and excellent for hide-and-seek. It was also conveniently located right by the barracks where the soldiers trained.

“Cassandra?” She tried tentatively, unsure of her own foresight as she listened closely to the wind. A small ruffling sound of moving leaves gave her adversary away.

A dishevelled, dark head matted with green from leaves and dust darted straight at her from the shadows. Arianna spun around with her practiced grace and raised a fan she had been carrying just in time to block the wooden tip of a practice sword.

The child peered up at her with a slight disappointed face, which quickly transformed into worry as she realized she had been caught at the wrong place at the wrong time.

“Not sneaky enough.” Arianna stated, smiling in reassurance that she was not in trouble. 

“You’re just too good.” Cassandra pouted. “You’re like a Koto-shadowwalker.”

“Am I now?” The queen gathered the child to her in a hug. “Then you just have to be better if you want to escape your lessons. I’ve heard the Shadows of the East can catch hawks using nothing but silence. And I do have some sound opinions about you skipping class, young lady.”

“I finished the work. Madame Grete just wants us to sit nicely and pretend as if we’re doing nothing.”

“You mean hold polite conversation? Cassie, that’s what one should expect of a young lady.” Arianna scolded, brushing a few stray straws of grass from Cassandra’s green clothes, trying to make her slightly more presentable. Hadn’t she started the day in a dress? It was so hard to know with this girl. Cassandra returned her hug, relaxing and seemingly at ease in the Queen’s arms. 

“But I won’t be a lady.” She mumbled in defiance.

True. That much was clear from the six years she had been Arianna’s ward. Needlework and poetry would never be on Cassandra’s list of great accomplishments. Her spirit belonged to the wind.

“I want to be a soldier, a shadowwalker, or a knight.” 

The girl stepped back and looked up at the queen, stormy eyes resolute with a certainty only the young could possess.

“I will be all of those, and then I will search every land and bring your daughter back.” She said stubbornly.

A sting of sorrow cut through Arianna’s otherwise jovial mood, but as she had during the weeks after Cassandra’s arrival when every morning was as heavy as the night, she found her strength. Unlike Frederic, she chose to see that horrible, painful day as the day she gained Cassandra rather than the day she lost Rapunzel. One day, she _would_ have her daughter back and until then it would hurt no one to show kindness to a girl who was nothing but earnest and good.

Arianna leaned down and put her hands on the girl’s shoulders, giving them a light squeeze in encouragement.

“Then we’ll need to train you properly, won’t we?.”

Cassandra’s smile could have lit the sky.

-Present Day-

The Kingdom of Corona had always stood out as an emerald jewel atop a crown of white and sandy rocks. It’s city, with its white spires and viridian domes, was a feat of great marvel upon the far end of the Coast of Eversun. Famed for its bountiful harvest and well-constructed harbor, it was beseeched by merchants from the far reaches of the seven kingdoms and beyond. One could get lost in the forest of masts and bulging white sails, flying an array of national and private colours, as one approached the city by the sea.

Cassandra took a deep breath at the sight as her ship cleaved through fast, frothy waves, at the colours and smells of _home_. 

The ship, _Issa_ , landed against the dock with the might groan of oak as its crew pulled the oars and downed its blue-striped sails which had given her journey life for half a moon. She swung herself onto dry land as quickly as it was physically possible, having caught sight of her expected company. On land, she paid the dockmaster to have her belongings delivered to the castle, and had little time for anything else before she was swept up in a hug.

“Dad,” She groaned into his civilian clothes and fumbled a bit with her satchel and sword before hugging him back. “I can’t breathe.”

The captain of the royal guard chuckled deeply and pushed them apart and held her at an arm’s length. As long as Cassandra could remember, he had always been a man of few words and even less affectionate gestures. She had learned to treasure the ones she received. Two guards in their golden armor stood a bit away, providing security for their leader on his rare moments off duty.

“You look well. Did you grow taller?” He asked, his otherwise stoic facade breaking into a rare look of happy contention, a man looking at his only child. “What did the Ingvarri feed you over there?”

“Meat, mostly. And obscene amounts of milk.” She said, non committedly and shrugged when her father gave her a pointed look. It had been good food, a bit light on the spices compared to their home fare but she had found no reason to complain. “Their smoked fish is really good.”

They made their way towards the castle, filling the air with small talk as the guards brought up their rear. Cassandra thought their presence made their party rather conspicuous.

“I can’t believe it’s been six years since this was your home.” The captain said when they finally entered the gates. 

“I haven’t seen you since the Battle of The Seven Kingdoms. For the better or worse.” She grimaced. That had been a painful memory for Coronians, as the princess had still been missing. It had been a battle of six kingdoms, and she would never forget Queen Arianna’s chiseled, ashen face overlooking the festivities while giving away none of her pain. Queen Signe had brought her along in her entoure to visit her family, a kindness Cassandra would not soon forget.

“I sent away a girl to study the sword, and look at what the sea brought back to me.” Her father chuckled fondly. “You look strong.”

“Were you expecting a fair maid with frills in her dress? I can’t stay a beanstalk forever.”

“Just saying that you’re a child no more. And I’m glad you’re home.”

“Corona will always be my home, dad. Especially now, when the Queen has summoned me.” 

“Ah about that.” He said, something unreadable twinkled in his eye in good humour. “You should go to her. However, I would see it more as a suggestion than a summon. Don’t take this the wrong way, but we would not have called you home if we did not know you had finished your studies.”

“I had half a mind to go to Koto this spring.”

“That you would.” He sighed. “Go get changed and don’t keep her majesty waiting. You stink like the seaweed stuck in the gulf.”

***

The castle remained much the same as she remembered, and a few friendly words with the guards sent her to the east wing. She strode into the terrace where the Queen awaited, fresh from a wash and in her good set of casuals, a pair of Ingvarri trousers with tightened calves and a comfortable, loose fitting shirt in mossy and dark green. Her sword belt was now clasped with Corona’s sun emblem. There were two tables set apart. One carrying a significant trove of what looked like court documents and proceedings with what looked like Arianna’s personal ink set. On the other, what could only be called a small banquet was spread out, fruits and greens she hadn’t seen in years together with cold cuts of meat, bread baked to golden crisp and ah, of course, black berry buns.

The queen stood with her back turned, browsing through a report. A few of her handmaidens lingered nearby. Her head perked up at Cassandra’s approach. There was no sneaking up to Arianna, even after all these years.

“Your majesty.” Cassandra said, trying to keep her voice steady, despite her elation to see the woman who had always treated her as her own. She bowed deeply when Arianna turned around, no longer the child who would run by her side with toy swords.

She did not see the Queen’s face until she felt a hand gently cusp her cheek, tilting her up. She did however hear the curious gasps of the maids as her face was suddenly covered by a veil of purple velvet and brown hair as Arianna pulled her into her second hug for the day. This time, she did not complain. 

“Welcome home, child.” Arianna said breathlessly.

Cassandra’s chest contracted at her words. She simply hugged the queen back, no longer trusting her own voice.

***

The day was way past noon when her father joined them. By then, she had relayed several anecdotes of her life, from her time as a swordling in Ingvarr, to her trip across the northern kingdoms. She had also managed to consume a venerable amount of food, enough to feed two men and some more. Her father looked at her critically. He was back in his uniform, holding his helmet under an arm and looking every part his command. Arianna lifted her hand, sensing the incoming reprimand.

Cassandra had the dignity to look a little embarrassed and gave him a wry look. It had just been so long since she had Coronan food, and the taste of home had been to much of a temptation to resist.

“Cassandra,” Her father cleared his throat. “I think it's time you hear why we called you back to Corona.”

“We both knew you wanted to further your journey, but circumstances have changed quite drastically at home.” Arianna continued, her face falling into something akin to worry.

Cassandra nodded, she had spent some time rereading both their letters on the ship. Together with the regular news at the Ingvarr capital, she had fit the pieces together rather easily.

“Your letters said the princess has been found. I assume this is somehow connected.”

“Correct. Rapunzel has had some difficulties adjusting to castle life and needs a bit more oversight than we expected. As it stands now, the royal guard lacks a soldier with the right... acumen to be her personal security detail. The ones we have tried simply cannot keep up with her.” Her father explained, looking a bit uncomfortable. Cassandra raised an eyebrow at this. “We were hoping you would take the job. We are asking because you’re not officially part of the military, and as your father, I don’t want to order you.”

“What the good captain is trying to say is that we have no female royal guards who is skilled enough to take the job. Rapunzel is, despite her rather delicate situation, a crown princess and we can’t have male soldiers running in and out of her room while she’s... up to her activities. I trust your father’s men, but the decorum simply doesn’t allow for it.”

Cassandra shot her father a smug told-you-so look, she had written to him on several occasions, arguing about the benefits of having a more gender balanced force. Father and daughter swapped knowing looks. Arianna leaned towards her and put up her hand to enclose hers.

“Cassie, listen, I know you wanted to enlist with the naval forces after coming home-”

“She does?” The captain blinked.

“I wrote it in my winter solstice letter, dad.” 

“-but I wouldn’t ask this of you if I didn’t think you would be the best for the job. I want to entrust my daughter’s safety to you, for a while, until Rapunzel is… more accustomed and we can lighten security.” 

“So, a short time arrangement huh?” She mused, looking between the two people who had always been there for her. It did sting a bit that she would have to delay her own plans, but it _did_ feel good to be home, even if the open seas called her.

“Cassandra, please be respectful, this is still the Queen.”

“Well, respectfully then, after six years abroad, you already knew my answer didn’t you.” She smiled widely, and reached for another blackberry bun.

***

Over the course of her life at the castle, Cassandra had been to the princess tower numerous times. The first time had been during exploration, when she was still young enough to be carried. The queen had found her with such a face of heartbreak that she didn’t dare to venture to the chambers for years. Later, she had found the chamber a respite when the other castle children grew old enough to ask about her parentage. She remembered sitting by the window, imagining the princess who should have lived there beneath its beautifully painted roof, wondering if they could have been friends. 

She was still reminiscing when she pushed the large, wooden doors open and realized she had forgotten to knock. What previously had been an empty chamber with a few stray details had been refurbished into a proper room with a queen sized bed, a desk seemingly overflowing with art supplies, bookshelves crammed with colorful tomes, a chiffonier, a vanity, a floor-full of books and a… pillow fort?

She blinked at the colourful monstrosity at the center of the room, mounds and piles of silk and chiffon arranged in a circular construct. A head of earthy brown hair stuck out from it’s ‘door’, lying flat on the side as if resting while the girl browsed through a book at random. She was wearing a dress of royal purple, but seemed ill at ease in it, with one shoulder sticking out from beneath its collar. A spread of paper and colorful pens were strewn around her.

“I don’t think I’m up for more princess stuff today, your majest-... mother.” The princess mumbled with a sullen, defeated voice, clearly not expecting her present company. 

Cassandra raised an eyebrow at the sight of the long-lost Coronan crown princess.

“I… hope not, since I have no princesserly things to share.” She replied with some humour.

The princess bolted up to a sitting position, knocking down half of the pillows of her fort. Surprise was written all over her face as her eyes widened at the sight of the other. She pulled the book to her chest in a defensive gesture. Surprise transformed to awe to curiosity in flashes of seconds, her eyes paused at Cassandra’s sword.

Cassandra kneeled and glanced up, meeting the other’s eyes. Large, forest-green met her back, prodding her gently.

“Greetings your highness, I am Cassandra and I have been assigned as your personal guard, starting this afternoon.”

Rapunzel blinked. “You’re Cassandra?”

“I am. You have heard of me?” She was genuinely surprised.

“The queen told me a few things. She was very happy about you coming home.” Rapunzel pursed her lips, looking a bit uncertain as she pulled herself into a cross-legged sitting position, completely foregoing that Cassandra was still on her knee in her royal presence and needed to be excused. “Though I guess I need to call her mother now.”

The word seemed to become lead in her mouth as Rapunzel tried it, and it was easy to understand why. The happy meeting between her father, Arianna and herself had taken a more serious turn as she was informed by the fate of her own birthmother, a woman who Rapunzel had called mother for all her life. Cassandra remembered Gothel as a dark-haired spectre that would sometimes visit her from the deepest recesses of her dreams. Some memories were cold while others were of firelight and pleasant. Her feelings about the witch who had left her behind however were complicated, and she did not want to tackle them at the present. Right now, she was home, and her father and Arianna had need for her service, and Cassandra had waited all her life for a chance to prove herself. 

“Aren’t you uncomfortable like that?” Rapunzel looked her hunched form up and down, a little confused.

So maybe she had expected a little more swashbuckling with pirates, but that would come in due time. Right now, the woman who was her mother in all but name needed and trusted her, and Cassandra would rather jump off a mast than let Arianna down.

“You need to acknowledge my service, your highness. Then I will stand.” Cassandra pointed out.

“Oh! Oh well, your service is acknowledged? It’s very nice to meet you. I am Rapunzel.” The princess pulled herself up straighter and nudged closer eagerly, she didn’t stand however and just continued to stare at Cassandra with rapt fascination. “Um… do you want to sit down? My waiting-lady gave me cookies and you’re welcomed to some. I have a lot of books if you want to see, do you like reading? Or will that get in the way of your bodyguard duty?” 

“Lady in waiting?” Cassandra corrected, smiling. She sat down and put her sword over her knees. She would check the princess’s chambers for vulnerabilities later, right now, she needed to get to know her charge.

“Yes, ugh, I’m not very good at this am I?”

“I don’t think there’s a playbook in how to be a princess.” Cassandra offered. “Princesses can be different depending on the kingdom.”

“Would have been helpful though. The governess they send me is nice, but there’s just… so much.” 

“Well, if there isn’t a rulebook maybe you can make some things up as you go? Since no one can tell you it’s wrong.”

The princess raised one of her eyebrows and shot her a lopsided smile. “Is that what you do? While guarding?”

“While fighting, yes. Part of it is always intuition.”

Rapunzel hummed thoughtfully at Cassandra’s suggestion. Her face seemed to want to break into half a dozen of expressions at once, yet settled for none. Then she smiled widely and pulled herself even more closer, clearly ignoring, or being ignorant of the concept of personal space. Which was bad. Because while Cassandra could overlook the delicate, slightly freckled features of someone half-buried in pillows it was harder to _not_ appreciate the same face leaning close, flush from excitement and hair pushed back over her ears, revealing the pale of a slender neck. 

No one had bothered to tell her Rapunzel was pretty. _Very_ pretty. 

Oh well. That was a complication, but it wasn’t like Cassandra hadn’t stood around in royal courts with lovely women before. She sent Queen Signe’s youngest a fond thought and felt heat creep up her throat.

“Tell me about fighting, and your journeys and the other countries you’ve seen.” Rapunzel requested blithely. “I want to hear all of it. I want us to be friends.”

“I am to be your guard, your highness.” Cassandra tried, hating at how soft her voice had gone. “A friendship might be... a complication.”

“Didn’t you just tell me to make some rules my own, Cass?”

She blinked. “Cass?”

“My rule. No take backs.” Rapunzel grinned. “It’s intuition.” 

***

In the garden, Arianna and the captain finished the last of their daily briefings before the guard had to report to the King. The Queen noticed how the man kept sliding slightly worried glances at the tower above.

“Is something wrong?” She asked conversationally, knowing very well what occupied his mind.

“Just…” The man stopped, shook his head and sighed. “Nothing your majesty, silly worries of a man getting on in his age.”

She nodded and followed his gaze. “You’ve done well by her, you know.”

He chuckled in response, and for a moment they were not a Queen and her soldier but two parents sharing the pride over a daughter grown and well-raised.

“I could say the same about you, your majesty. I couldn’t have done it without your support and insight. She takes after your kindness, and spirit for adventures.”

"As if I could have disciplined all that energy into her skill with a sword." She scoffed fondly. "Did I tell you what Queen Signe wrote to tell me about her? How she disarmed two men with some cutlery?"

"You did." He grinned. "Atta girl."

“We’ve done what we could, Gustav. Let’s have faith in her, and let's see if our child can take on my wildling of a daughter before the whole castle goes mad. And who knows what destiny has in store for them both.”

* Part 1 End *

  
  



	2. And Now They Were Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An unconventional friendship, some stories are shared and clouds start to form on the horizon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta: Cyn, all rawr

It was a beautiful early morning. Arianna could literally feel the drowsiness of the night lift from her spirit with every sip of coffee and bite of food. Beyond the city, the ocean lit the horizon with glittering sparkles and white sails. The faint bells of the returning fishing boats filled the lower wharfs, dragging the fishwives and foremen from their meals, signaling the start of the workday. Arianna had only minor administrative tasks today as queen, and with the exception of lunch with the heads of the carpenter guild her day looked surprisingly breezy which meant she could indulge in a long breakfast, maybe followed by a stroll-

“I  _ HATE _ YOU!” 

Rapunzel, dressed in a short exercise dress ran past, panting in a sad-looking slog after a positively glowing Cassandra. Arianna blinked. 

“Keep up, Raps, basic fitness is important if you’re ever going to protect yourself.” 

“Then why do I need YOU?” The princess suffered between heaving, astmatic wheezes.

“Please, I’m not even going to justify that with an answer. If you’re doing well enough to talk, you can absolutely run. A few more laps should do it.” Cassandra wasn’t even breathing hard as she slowed down to let the princess catch up.

“I can’t feel my legs!”

“Sure you can, they are the part of you that is hurting the most right now. Just keep your breathing even, remember to exhale.”

Both young women ran past, Cassandra took notice of the queen and waved before turning back to Rapunzel. “Don’t forget we’re dashing up the slope, we really need to strengthen your calves.” 

“I HATE you _ sooooo  _ much!” 

Her daughter’s voice, a pitiful, rattling whine, disappeared behind the left castle wing towards the garden hills and barracks. Arianna’s lady-in-waiting arrived with her eggs and scones without paying the spectacle any heed. The woman huffed as she looked over the placement of the cutlery, pretending her best to ignore the now daily debacle of the princess’s most recent curriculum and the queen’s obvious amusement.

Arianna took a bite of her spiced eggs and passed both children a fond, motherly thought. The food was delicious.

***

For the fifth time this month, Cassandra wondered if she hadn’t accidentally killed the long lost heir to the Coronian crown out of sheer athletic enthusiasm.

The extravagant marble tub of the royal bath stood less than five meters away, filled with steaming hot water that promised complete and utter relaxation. Covered with suds and smelling faintly of citrus, it looked like paradise. Princess Rapunzel der Sonne however, laid sunken in a graceless heap on the floor, seemingly unmoving atop the rich, purple rug embroidered with a sun.

“I really don’t like you right now.” 

Her voice was barely audible as she flopped around face-up, her warm, brown hair streaked and matted by sweat. It clung to her dress in all the unflattering places as she drew a deep, laboured breath to sooth her aching body.

“I’ll live.” Cassandra stood stoically by her feet, one arm resting comfortable on her sword hilt while she brushed her own damp hair back. “Just like I did yesterday, and the day before when you mentioned similar sentiments.” 

“I should never have hired you.”

“You didn’t, the Queen did. You’re merely a victim to the whims of higher authority.”

“So we agree that you’re the villain! I highly doubt this higher authority told you to torture me daily at the crack of dawn.” Rapunzel grimaced at her from the floor with all the grace of a sunbathing seal. 

“That part would be my design, indeed. It’s good for you. No matter how many guards you have, your first and last line of defence will always be yourself.” 

The princess pushed herself up to a half-sitting position with great labour, rolling her shoulders while she glared at Cassandra sourly. “It’s easy for you to say. How do you look  _ better _ while sweating and exercising?” She gestured in her general direction, annoyed.

“Excuse me?” Cassandra laughed, missing the slight tint of red that started to colour the princess’s ears.

“It’s just really embarrassing how you get to see me flop around like a fish on land every day while you’re right there, looking all unbothered and… and swell.” Rapunzel pouted, her ear tips now completely red. She seemed to have wanted to say something else. “And my mother laughed at me.”

“I’m sure the Queen was just looking after you.”

“Ugh. Yeah. I gathered. That’s what you all do. Look after me.” The princess’s mood seemed to sour at that. “As if I’m a precious pet.”

The younger girl didn’t elaborate further. She suddenly got up and stomped over to one of the wooden cabinets, fatigue seemingly gone and grabbed a towel. Cassandra stood wordless as the princess plied her soggy clothes off one after one, not really bothering to get behind the dressing screens. Cassandra looked away but caught a vision of bare, sun-kissed skin as the princess marched up to the bath and stepped in with as much dignity as she cared to muster. When she looked up again, Rapunzel was in the bath, hair soaked and combed back with crystalline water up to her chest. Their eyes met.

Cassandra swallowed and turned around. If there was one thing she had learned the hard way it would certainly be that being raised in a tower had taught Rapunzel  _ nothing _ about modesty. 

“I’ll go-” She started.

“Stay.” Rapunzel muttered into the water as she began to wash. “After all, you’re here to look after me.”

“Raps?”

“Cass, it’s fine. I’ll be quick so you can have your turn. Then let’s go start our day.”

Rapunzel let out a small sigh and began to hum as the room was filled with the sound of sloshing water. This time it was Cassandra’s who felt her face burn red.

***

“They seem to be doing well.”

The captain stepped back from the balustrade into the study, taking the cup of coffee offered to him. Beneath in the inner courtyard, Rapunzel was defending herself against Cassandra’s steady attacks with a practice sword. Barefoot and without a shred of fear, she flailed a wooden staff like a child on a mission, boisterous and fierce. Her dark-haired counterpart kept an even pace, carefully adjusting the pressure and power of her blows. A quick three step attack forced the princess back as she lifted her staff to deflect. Both girls seemed to be enjoying themselves.

“Fast friends, already joined by the hip if I’m to believe.” Arianna walked over with her own cup, handing him several folders with the royal crest. 

“I would admonish Cassandra for this… distraction, but I went through her security rotations yesterday. She’s made some excellent suggestions to the guard posts and some exterior structural changes to the princess’s windows. She was taught well.” The captain continued with hesitant satisfaction. “She seems to be doing her job well, among other things.” 

Arianna shot him a look. “Come now Gustav, both girls could do with a few more friends. Being queen will be lonely enough without us actively dissuading Rapunzel to make connections. She started out late and there’s little we can do to help that. The other youths of the nobility spook her with their prestige and manners, and the seminar classes for young women would make her run for the hills. Cassie’s never exactly been a social butterfly either. Frederic has no opinion on the matter, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

The captain nodded slowly. “I’ve always felt helpless to help her in that regard.”

“Children are cruel and castle children are no different. Too many knew you were unmarried and had no child when she came to us, and me taking her in as a ward? We knew people would talk.” Arianna agreed regretfully but her voice betrayed no such feelings. “It was always going to be unconventional and we’re lucky she was born strong spirited. Signe and Ingvarr did her good, I believe, to have her judged for her character and abilities rather than circumstances that were always beyond her control.”

“So we let them be.”

“Rapunzel is safe, and we’ve kept Cassie from running off to the high seas a little longer. She’ll still go eventually, probably, but maybe we can inspire a modicum of nostalgia to bring her home for future holidays. Yes, we let them be.” 

The captain quietened at his queen’s words and let them stew, he rarely disagreed. He took a sip of his hot drink and opened the files on an adjacent desk. His face fell into one of stern consternation.“It seems like we will be receiving visitors.”

“A minor trade summit, mainly between Corona and Ingvarr. Nesdernia will act as moderator and I wouldn’t be surprised if the rest sent envoys too considering most spice exports use these same routes between all seven kingdoms. We’ll need to strengthen security over a few weeks.” Arianna explained while gesturing to her desk where a heap of paperwork lay unattended. “The king thinks Ingvarr needs to contribute more to the patrols on the High Coast. Right now, Corona supplies the majority of the ships to keep these seas clean from pirates while their own fleet voyages to the east. The High Coast is their most important trade route, just as it is ours, fair should be fair.” 

The captain stroked the side of his cheek, going over the numbers in the document. “Hmm, so I assume we will be receiving military personnel, likely an admiral or two. A few of their southern jarls are sure to show.” 

“The embassies are putting together a guest list as we speak. I will make sure you have copies by noon tomorrow.” More paperwork was handed out, and it was followed by a missive signed by the king. “The Ingvarri have also suggested a show of martial sports as a gesture of competition and goodwill. Frederic has already given permission.”

The captain rolled his eyes. “To show off you mean.”

“I’m going to suggest a modified curriculum of the Brave Challenge. That should rouse the local interest as well.” The queen made a vague gesture of mild disinterest, treating the whole concept as a passing game. “Let’s give them a show. If a few bouts of aggression gets us more ships in the water, I’m all for it.”

“Your orders, your will, my lady.” The captain sighed, feeling it redundant to point out that having scores of armed foreign military in their city seemed a security risk.

Arianna shook her head apologetically at his discontentment while handing him another file, this one with golden edges and a far more expensive looking seal.

“What’s this?”

The queen relaxed a bit. She took a seat by her desk again, her dress billowing around her. “Seems like one of the younger Ingvarri princesses are accompanying them. I know this name, she was in the same year as Cassie. It seems like the girl has come of age to voyage and is sailing south with her crew. They will accompany the fleet to Corona and will set out towards new lands from here.” She shrugged in a very uncharacteristic manner. ”I replied to Queen Signe and welcomed her. Seems harmless enough.”

Outside, Rapunzel landed her first solid blow and both girls cheered.

***

During her six years spent in Ingvarr, Cassandra had failed to realize just how boring life at an actual royal court can be. As the ward of a queen, she had been called to the somber halls of the Court of Iron at feasts and holidays when her fellow swordlings were sent home, but those had been short stays filled with music, drink and other pleasant things, often at the behest of her sword-sisters who called the castle home. Those stays had not exposed her to the tedious tasks of staff and soldiers rising and going by their work, or the amount of meetings and bureaucracy it took to keep a country running.

Swordlings had mostly been housed at the traditional training camps surrounding the cities, where they were least likely to cause trouble and far away from taverns with their drink. In the morning, they rose to the sheen of spears and in the eve they fell asleep to the dull sounds of metal. Cassandra knew the sound of grindstone like the beat of her own heart. It had been a simple but purposeful life, dedicated to the improvement of her own skills under the strict tutelage of warmasters who had turned generations of Ingvarri youth to seafaring warriors. Back in Corona, she had come to miss the quiet of winter’s first snow and the company of her sisters.

Like now, as she stood behind Rapunzel’s slightly hunched back as they both were slowly bored to tears by the princess’s second tutor. Trade economics was an important subject to any country, but for Corona’s it was its lifeblood. Every year, thousands of ships harbored or anchored here as a part of its route and the shipyard was renowned upon the seas. Knowing this, Rapunzel was as per usual trying her very, very hardest. She could see it in the tension of the younger girl’s shoulders and the pensive, almost angry frown upon her otherwise open face. It was just too bad that the tutor had the voice and engagement of a turtle on its back.

After almost two insufferable hours, the lesson was finally finished and Rapunzel was left to self-study. The princess sagged the moment the turtle man left the library.

“That was horrible.” She commented and browsed through her finicky, hurried notes.

Cassandra stifled a yawn in agreement. “I think I could do without looking at charts for a while.” 

“I don’t think I have that luxury.” 

“There’s always another day.” She offered non-committedly and knew it was the wrong thing to say the moment Rapunzel turned around and her face was scrunched in hopelessness.

“You all say that. ‘Rapunzel it’s fine, tomorrow is a new day!’ Well, guess what Cass, one day there won’t be. One day we’ll all wake up and I’ll be queen and still unable to understand the... opportunity costs of our wheat exports or whatever. I’ll be terrible. People will say they wish I'd stayed in the tower.” And she pinched her brows and looked so unhappy at her own conclusion it compelled the other girl to action.

“Hey.” Cassandra sat down beside the younger girl, first awkwardly with her sword in the way. She nudged the younger girl to meet her eyes, Cassandra’s storm to Rapunzel’s summer, trying to inject confidence into her next line of words. “You will not be terrible.”

“You don’t know that.” Rapunzel looked miserable, possibly even more so than after her philosophy lessons. 

“But I do know that you will keep trying to be good at whatever you choose to pursue. I’ve been watching you for months, Raps. You try so hard at queening, as if your father wasn't healthy and your mother wasn't brilliant, and you keep getting better even if you yourself can’t see it. All the people I know who turned out to be terrible are those who at some point stopped trying to improve.” Cassandra continued, she put her hand on top of Rapunzel’s and squeezed in reassurance.

“Really?”

“Yeah, think about it. I knew a girl like that in Ingvarr. She was made Spear Honoured of her year and just assumed one day that she was good enough with the weapon and stopped trying. Took less than two months for someone to catch up and lay her flat. She never really recovered from the humiliation and was bitter until she left camp.”

“That does sound like a silly thing to do.” 

“Now unless I’m mistaken Raps, you’re going to be _ queen _ , not Head of Political Economics or some other fancy state title. You’ll have advisors who are better at this than you are, and they’ll provide the knowledge you need to form a decision. You don’t need to be the best at it, or understand all of it, that’s just not reasonable considering all the fields you’ll have to cover.”

Rapunzel seemed to ponder her words for the longest time, until her face regained some colour and the small twinkle was back to her mouth. She turned her hand in Cassandra’s and weaved their fingers together. 

“You’re wise, Cass.” She smiled beautifully, and for a few seconds she looked older than her years. “Maybe I’ll have you advise me in the future.”

“Very funny.” 

“Who says I’m joking?” Rapunzel giggled and slid herself slightly closer. She placed their hands atop the warm wood of the desk and propped her other hand under her chin. Any closer than this and her slightly tousled chocolate hair would be on her shoulder. The late morning cast her in shadows of oak and dust, her purple dress alight with dapples of light. The sight and proximity made Cassandra’s chest ache. “Tell me something more about your time in Ingvarr. I need a break.”

“What would you like to hear?” 

“Anything. How many weapons can you use? How did you spend your free time? Were you Honoured and in that case in what?” Rapunzel narrowed her eyes and plucked lips like a curious cat, or goose. “Did you go on any dates?”

“Five weapons. There was very little free time, we either slept, trained, ate or studied with the exception of holidays. Yes, I achieved the Honoured status, and my whole year was in waves about it.” She declined to explain further, then scoffed at the other’s obvious attempt at busybodying. “And Ingvarri don’t date, they have sparring partners.”

Rapunzel blinked, surprised. “Really? Must be hard if you like someone.”

“Not really.” Cassandra replied in good humor. “Fraternization was frowned upon, especially between the male or female camps. Training however, was allowed and well, there are different kinds of sparring I guess.”

Rapunzel’s face and the following shove was well worth it. The princess looked like she wanted to ask more but was dissuaded when a maid arrived with tea. They talked for some length, taking the full, red tea and crunchy cakes til the princess had to go back to her books. Cassandra had fetched a book of her own, an illustrated book on maritime discovery with maps, to keep her company.

“You never told me what you were Honoured for.” Rapunzel spoke up after they had been studying for a while.

“I didn’t.” Cassandra answered and just went on reading. “And that is a secret I shall keep.” 

***

The last light of the evening shimmered through the tall, white drapes of the princess chambers as the girl danced her way across the floor, earlier moods forgotten and as happy as one could be. Cassandra was trying very hard to not laugh while looking mortified at the same time as the princess again, without much care began to pull off her clothes to change, completely ignoring the existence of the folding screens. Faith, the lady-in-waiting, shot her a knowing, exasperated look before shoving Rapunzel’s evening wear into Cassandra’s hands and briskly left, no doubt saving the cleaning for tomorrow.

“I hit you during staff practice today.” Rapunzel grinned so wide the tips of her mouth seemed to touch her ears, her previous moods forgotten. She was still struggling out of her dress with one arm stuck in the collar. “I totally did.”

“You hit me.” Cassandra conceded, rolling her eyes. 

Rapunzel let out a triumphant whoop and tore out of the troublesome garment, reaching for the lighter gown set out for her. Cassandra thanked all the gods she was wearing a light shift underneath as the princess skipped over the room towards her in glee. She hadn’t meant to see the shape of a willowy waist and way too much skin through the thin, white linen, but damn if it didn’t make the evening more interesting.

She swallowed and took a deep, focusing breath.

“Why do you do that?” The princess asked. 

“What?”

“Sometimes you look at me and then start to breathe all funny.” Rapunzel’s expression changed to one of slyness. “Did I steal your breath away?”

Cassandra shot her a stern glare and decided not to take the bait. Rapunzel, despite all her sweet, endless energy, could truly be a senseless, challenging brat at times.

“You’re good at stealing pastries, and patience, if this gloating carries on.” She replied, trying to sound serious but failing in the face of the princess’s playful glee. 

“Aw, Cass. Did I say it wrong? I read the line in this book.” The princess held up a cheap looking volume with a cherry pink binder titled ‘ _ Silent Heart of The Lonely Dame’ _ with some nondescript cheesy front art of a woman staring longingly at the moon. “Do you know it?”

Cassandra suddenly felt a very bad urge to sneeze, or giggle, what came out was both. She had no idea the castle kept a collection of trashy romance novels straight out of a corner shop. “Didn’t take you for the type, Raps.” She laughed. 

“You just have no taste, let's agree to disagree then. You do swords and I do books. I found a whole section of these in the library and brought them along. They teach you a lot of things about human relationships, and the descriptions in them are always neat.” Raps scoffed and pointed to the two dozen volumes she had at some point poached to her room. “These are all from the children’s section.”

Cassandra paused, looking nonplussed at the cover with a half-dressed woman. “Children’s section?”

“Yeah, there was a whole shelf marked ‘Adult’, I just assumed the rest were for children. It makes sense for kids to learn how to relate to others right?’ Rapunzel chirped excitedly while running her hand over the back of the binders as if they were great treasures.

The door creaked open, interrupting a slightly distraught Cassandra from informing the princess of her ill-fated misconception. Faith rolled a cart in with some fruit and dessert. It also contained Cassandra’s dinner which was neatly stacked into the lower compartment and she realized she was very hungry. The irregular meal times that came with this job were definitely its biggest downside, especially during dinner when the royal family dined together and her position was by the door. She wished Arianna would stop giving her apologetic looks during such occasions. She had not asked to sit dinner with the queen since she was nine.

Rapunzel sensing her mood kindly sent her lady-in-waiting away and pulled the cart to her bed where they usually ate. It was now a familiar habit for them to share this last meal of the day, the princess with her decorated plate of sweets and Cassandra with whatever was prepared for the castle staff. It was a stark reminder of their different positions, but overshadowed by the gentle pleasure to see each other eat as messily and greedily as they wished, with no one else to see them as they were. 

Cassandra ate neatly, with a soldier’s efficiency drilled from strict taskmasters, every bite of the day’s stew was strategic and savoured with the right amount of bread and sauce while she kept her hands clean. Rapunzel on the other hand had a tendency to pick things up with quick, precise fingers. In her room and away from the stern, disapproving looks over governesses and parents, the princess defaulted to the way she had taught herself to eat during her long years of confinement, using utensils as tools rather than necessities. Cassandra never had the heart to correct her because of the way younger girl would release a long metaphorical breath and simply relax during their meal. 

It was a curious scene, of seeing the enforced princess decorum fall away to leave only the person of a young woman behind, a girl who until her freedom had never needed to be anyone except herself. It was beautiful in the effortless way a flower finally decides to bloom. 

After that, Cassandra would do her rounds of the princess chambers before the night, and the nightguard would replace her presence outside the doors. Today however, they had much to discuss about the news of the trade summit and visitors from far away lands, and so they kept good company and talked into the night.

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll have you guys know that I never intended MKB to be a multipart. It was intended as part of Here, The River Divides but is now taking up all my writing time. I was going to leave you guys with Cass and Raps sitting in the princess chambers like I did in chapter one, leaving the rest of what happens to your imagination. Some serious brainstorming and my beta being a conniving slapmaster later, here we are. So this is actually where the story begins.
> 
> Notes: I always thought it was so weird that Rapunzel was just good at -everything- after being locked up for eighteen years of her life. Like yea, I guess she would be good at baking and playing guitar and painting, but staff-combat? Hmm. So yea, this chain of thoughts ended with me adding some quirks to her personality, better that than making her say, semi-mute. You tell me if you spent all your life in one room with minimal social exposure if you would care about undressing in front of others. *laugh* I see your sweatpants, people!
> 
> Also, exposing Raps to real smut would be so hilarious. *gasp* I can just see Cassandra chasing after whoever did it with drawn sword screaming murder while at the same time secretly wondering if the princess was into it.


	3. Pine Tree

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The delegations arrive! Cass gets a visit from an old friend. Rapunzel puts on a game face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta: Cyn, all yay

Cassandra roused from a peaceful night of sleep on the first day of the trade summit, blissfully unaware that the day ahead would hit her like a horde of rampaging horses.

She always woke at the first wisps of dawn, as she had always done, since her father had needed to wake her for morning practice. Rolling over towards the window of her sparsely decorated room, she yawned and pushed herself up to a drowsy stumble to fill her basin to wash. She was a slow waker. It was a detail she was unable to correct no matter how much she had tried and didn’t particularly care to since most of her days demanded focus and clarity in spades. Lady Sleep could keep her a while longer.

Morning hygiene finished, she pulled on her practice clothes, grey upon maroon and clipped on her sword and a few smaller blades to start her day. 

The earliest signs of daybreak began to take shape across the castle as the maids and cooks started their daily work and the nightguard toiled their last rounds, impatient to be relieved. The air was still cold and smelled like earthy dew when she emerged into the soldiers’ canteen. A few men sat around, no one was rouse enough to notice her as she quietly made her way to the serving stations. 

A kitchen girl, freckled and white-powdery with flour all the way to the elbows, greeted her with a friendly, familiar nod and poured her a bowl of milk soup. Cassandra drank it in large gulps standing, not bothering to sit down and returned the bowl with a shy, grateful half-smile. The girl just guffawed and shook her head in resignation, then stomped back into the kitchen. Mia had been thirteen when she left at sixteen and no longer hid behind counters when she walked past. She used to find the girl adorable but now barely dared to meet the other’s eyes.

The skies had turned entirely grey as she walked outdoors with the horizon burning in a promising orange. She could barely make out the fishing boats if she squinted as the morning mist rolled into the shores in thick, fae plumes. It would be some time still until Rapunzel woke, and so she set to work.

Cassandra always started the day with a run. She started from the castle gates, down the softer slopes of the western walls all the way to the shore. It was a familiar route she had run many times before when she was copying the cadets of the royal guard, going through the lower wharfs, the warehouses and the Eye with its blinding white walls and low-burning light. She ran at a pace which made her lungs burn, which they had done every morning since she was old enough to lift a sword. The second part of her routine began when she made her way back, sprinting up the four hundred nineteen steps it took to climb her way back to the castle, to the barracks where she would spend another hour destroying training dummies while cycling between weapons. Today, as a great many previous days, it made her itch for a real fight.

The castle guards would join her at times, and she enjoyed the additional challenge of a friendly spar, but as time had passed with days of peaceful slog, it was hard to ignore the fact that she missed the pains and bite of real battle. She missed the camp tournaments in Ingvarr where she and her sisters would decide who deserved to be Honoured, and fought until third blood was drawn. She missed sailing upon the sea, charting stars and keeping maps, to seek and raid the treacherous corsairs of the Northern seas. She missed the salt and silence, and the feeling of her body keyed up like a string, ready to act and fight and dance like a shadow to fire.

Corona, in all its billowing richness of trade and happy, metropolitan people still felt like home, but the city did instill a restlessness in her she had felt since very young. Arianna had told her many tales of the ships they could see from the castle walls, and she had loved these stories dearly and longed for a day she would be part of it all. 

But first then, there was duty. 

There was duty, and Rapunzel and the all too familiar way the princess drew her eyes. The way the brunette sent her mind into slight panic every time the younger woman drew close and accosted her with open affection. In the beginning, she had berated herself for the folly and thought herself just needy of company. She had considered slipping into a harbor tavern to find a girl for a tryst but thought better of it. Because the next day the princess would fall asleep on her shoulder in the garden, or steal a whole basket of blackberry buns to share with powdery sugar across her face, and Cassandra would wonder if destiny was laughing at her all along. 

She let out a long sigh, letting her thoughts go and washing her mind clean of freckled cheeks and green eyes. A few more soldiers were awake now, joining her in the field and nodding in greeting.

A young man with shoddy, dark hair and a blunt scar across his jaw tipped his helmet at her, balancing his sword easily against his tall, scarlet-dressed frame and asked for a match.

She nodded, finishing her serie by severing the head of one last training dummy in a spray of hay with a precise backhand sweep, pivoted in a rotatory motion while keeping one of her daggers en garde. The man let out a low whistle, visibly impressed by her precision. 

They stood in amiable silence for a few moments, sizing each other up until he took stance and dashed at her. He was neither weak nor arrogant in his approach, their first blows ending in jabs and quick sets of ripostes where neither of them gave ground or took strides. He was a solid fighter with both height and strength, trained by her father amongst the guards. The man was no fool and played well to his advantages, striking at her relentlessly while trying to keep his distance.

The tactic was a familiar one, focusing on defense while trying to pry your opponent’s guard open with hard strikes. It might have worked, if Cassandra hadn’t studied under the same master for ten years before adding another six years of _ingvakish_ to her skill. 

The fifth time the man stroke, she let him pass slowly and then quickly before he could compensate for her feint. Her breathing slowed, then slowed further as she saw his eyes widen as his thrust met air where her body flattened sideways. She stepped into his zone like a shadow, easy and smooth like waves over sand. For a few moments, time stilled as the courtyard held its breath, then snapped to the present as she crushed her elbow down on his swordhand and brought her offhand up in one singular motion. The man yelped and stopped, stumbling in his last step as he dropped his heavy blade and found a dagger at his throat. 

They broke apart. Cassandra could feel the air burn.

“Good fight.” She commented.

He nodded grievously but accepted her hand. “Your reputation precedes you, my lady.” Then he gathered his things and returned to his peers who all looked at her with the owlish curiosity one did to a strange beast from the woods. She paid it no mind. Her time was almost up and her real work awaited.

Far above, from a balcony overgrown with vines and roses, Rapunzel pulled a brush through her stubborn hair. A tiny, satisfied smile played across her excitable face as she observed the dark-haired girl sheathe her sword and start towards the door. She wondered if one of these days Cassandra would tip her head back and finally notice that the princess rarely slept past the first light.

***

The formal greetings took forever. 

Cassandra had never been more grateful over the fact that Rapunzel had been deemed not ready to sit through five hours of arriving dignitaries in the throne room. Pete and Stan had been assigned as the King and the Queen’s personal guards and both bore witness to the horrors of Nigel’s droning voice calling out a litany of never ending titles and welcomes. It had been decided that the princess would be introduced at the following mingle, a much more informal affair with only the key guests attending. 

Cassandra didn’t know if this made Rapunzel disappointed or relieved, probably both, as they both waited in one of the anteroom to the parlour where servants flitted in and out like a swarm of bees, carrying assorted plates of canapes and drinks to prepare for the arriving guests. 

The princess’s mind looked to be in the middle ground between trepidation and excitement, it was hard to know as she bounced from one foot to the other while her hands were clasped in front in an attempt to stop herself from grabbing her dress in ugly fists, wrinkling the finely embroidered linen. Her dress was in different shades of rich lavender and sleek with a minimal of decorative details aside from the Coronan emblem and gold jewelry, it complemented her slim figure well as the whole court had learned that there was no way to keep Rapunzel in a petticoat. Cassandra noticed with some exasperation that she had foregone to wear shoes, again.

Her own clothes were more discreet, purposefully kept loose in places to make it easier to move. After much consideration, she had decided for a white, pressed cotton shirt with a deep, velvet green vest with patterns of reeds on top, matched with dark pants and even darker shoes and belt. She had asked the tailor to make the vest rather snug in the back, abundantly showing the shorter blade she carried aside from her primary sword. Rapunzel had insisted on a pair of silver cufflinks to ‘bring it all together’.

Inside, they could hear her parents bring the guests in, soft tunes of violin music filled the hall as Nigel, in a ridiculous cherry suit, checked in on them and asked if they were ready. 

“Hey,” Cassandra said quietly. “You’ll be fine. We’ve been going through the guest list for a week. You can do this.”

Rapunzel turned fidgety and eyed her in kind relief. “Yeah, I guess… just, don’t leave me Cass.” She near-whispered, the nervousness rolling off her in waves. Cassandra snorted which made the princess giggle. “I mean it, and you look great by the way.” 

What else might have been said was interrupted as the doors swung open with pompously dramatic slowness and they strode in, Cassandra two steps behind the princess, as Nigel announced their arrival.

The sheer amount of people in the room made her fighter instincts itch. She was used to following the other girl around during her daily lessons while mitigating the risks of the castle and the city but the sheer push of a crowd, even one as orderly as this one, suddenly surrounding them put her at edge. Everyone wanted a closer look at the lost and recovered sun princess. Cassandra had to shove a few overenthusiastic nobles back and the rest she managed to keep at bay with a scowl, but barely. Rapunzel herself was keeping her carefully maintained facade up, one guest at a time, gliding between the gatherings as she politely greeted, nodded and let her hands be kissed back and forth. 

They greeted the king and the queen, and then her father together in relief when the attention finally fizzled out. She gave Pete and Stan who were standing behind the royals a knowing sympathetic look.

The evening was coming to an end as more and more of the dignitaries wished the der Sonnes good night and adjourned until the meetings tomorrow. She watched each company hawkishly, memorizing the faces to the names she already knew. A few of the Pittsburg and Galcrest lords had eyed Rapunzel with such pitying disdain she nearly growled and missed a trio of people approaching from their left.

The man was Ingvarri, tall and sunken with a braided beard like most northmen, dressed in fine leathers and pelts of fox and grey mink. A number of smattering iron bands held his hair back and she recognized the helmet under his arm and the insignia it bore. This was the admiral most likely leading the Ingvarri delegation. He was accompanied by a thin, almost ghostly pale woman she recognized as the head ambassador.

It was however the third figure that made Cassandra’s mouth drop open and eyes widened in shock. She stared without blinking, unable to stop the small intake of breath that slithered between her teeth. No one but Rapunzel who shot her a curious look noticed.

She did not hear what the admiral said to the royal couple until he turned and put a hand on the shoulder of the young woman beside him and spoke.

“Your majesties, may I introduce to you Queen Signe’s youngest scion, princess Rúna-Idun Signesdottir, eighth of the Court of Iron, Sword Honoured sister and aspiring voyager of the Ingvarri.” He said gravely.

The foreign princess bowed, arms bared, golden-braided and with a pearl-toothed grin, her tall frame looking infuriatingly relaxed and comfortable in her own skin, just like Cassandra remembered. 

“Welcome, your highness.” King Frederic nodded solemnly. “What brings your company to Corona, if I may inquire?”

The princess replied easily, as if she was visiting the house of a favoured uncle. “Leisure and curiosity, your majesty. I shall have a look at the sun kingdom I’ve heard so much about, taste your wine and enjoy your pleasures, and then depart south across the Outer Sea.” Her eyes swept past Rapunzel and stopped directly at Cassandra. “But first of my business, I shall gather my crew.” 

***

Cassandra closed the door as furiously as she could while remaining polite and proper, which is to say, not much at all. Rapunzel had thrown a few worried glances at her as the conversation between the Ingvarri delegation and her parents carried on, but for once she did not have the focus to meet the other’s eyes. She asked to be excused for a few minutes while her father took her place and exited to the hallway. Rúna was on her the moment the door clicked.

She looked exactly as Cassandra imagined she would given time, half a head taller than herself, statuesque, with masses of platinum gold hair weaved into a long neat braid and a frame that danced between lean and toned. She looked like a valkyrie of old given life. Dressed in the colours of her House and a side cape with a sailor’s shirt beneath, she seemed like how they had dreamed to be as swordling sisters sharing a cot, washed and salted by waves. The sight made Cassandra’s head spin. Rúna just grinned with the satisfaction of a prank gone right.

“Cassandra,” She laughed, her voice a silvery medley of mirth. “Where is my greeting. Did they muzzle you as well as stick you on guard duty?”

“What are you doing here?” Cassandra gaped, part in joy, part in embarrassment, and one hundred percent in profound disbelief. “Wait, don’t answer that, I know how you are after getting off a boat.”

“Whatever could you mean, my storm-eyed pearl? Did you not miss me? I thought of you everyday.” 

“You think of at least five girls a day, and ale, and probably big masts or something ridiculous.” She replied with no real fire, hating how she enjoyed letting the other step closer.

“I don’t believe one delight cancels out another. But you were always first of those five, if you will.” Rúna commented, smug and eyes narrowing as she caught her unease. She swept her arms out in a grandiose gesture and placed them along Cassandra’s taut shoulders in a solid grip, long fingers gently brushing through the hair at the nape of her neck. The familiar sensation made her want to punch something. “Don’t be so obtuse. I served my mother’s court dutifully and earned myself a ship, just like I said I would. So naturally I’m here for you, to steal your pretty heart away.”

“Oh god, you really did just say that _,_ ” Cassandra gritted between teeth, half infuriated by the other girl’s shameless antics. “In case you didn't notice, I have my duty here.”

“Yes, I saw, I watched you all night. They stuck you of all people in the princess's shadow, where you’ll rot and decline of boredom and atrophy. This was never what you were meant to be.”

“You don’t know that, and I was summoned by my queen.” Her voice bordered to seething. “I’m bound by fealty.”

Her words just made Rúna scoff, her words droll in flat scorn. “You’re no simpering noble, nor are you a knight. Be real, Cassandra. You’re as wild as the rest of us, your skill with a blade is second only to myself and I remember the crew talking, calling you a sea witch for being able to navigate using nothing but fog. You’re _Honoured_ among the sisters. Why waste it here shepherding some recently minted royal?” The blonde continued relentlessly, her every word a bite in her side. “Will they even allow you into the games for this summit, or will you be stuck at the princess’ side? You’re so much more than a silly guard, there’s a reason we named you pathfinder.”

The title made her look up and Rúna saw triumphantly how it kindled something in her. The blonde’s eyes flicked curiously to the side and before Cassandra could see or follow what was going on, the taller girl tipped down and pressed her lips to the area her nose met her cheek. It was soft and it annihilated her.

Her chest ached in a way that reminded her of crumbling wood, like rot and corrosion was burrowing beneath her ribs and she felt stupidly seventeen again. Cassandra knew this feeling and hated how she still enjoyed it, fought against how easy it would be to rely on it again.

A startled yelp from a third voice tore her from the warrior princess’s arms. To her left by the crack of an open door, Rapunzel stood wide-eyed and aghast, and if glares could truly kill then Rúna would probably have been dead ten times over by numerous violent means. Worried about her friend, the sun princess had entered to check on them, her bare feet making her as quiet as a cat. The look she gave them however was anything but friendly. The Coronan princess’s face went through a paroxysm of expressions before settling on one of white-hot _rage_ , it was a real game-face and Cassandra would have been proud under literally any other circumstances.

Rúna herself was no fool and her gaze flickered between the both of them curiously for a long, loaded moment. Then she broke away and gave her Coronan counterpart a deep, slightly showy bow and bid her good-night. She walked past the bodyguard with a shit-eating smirk and a wink, leaving a dumbstruck, furious Cassandra to deal with her other princess.

***

The walk back to the princess chambers was done in harrow, pregnant silence. Rapunzel stomped through the corridors like a woman on a mission and had started to remove her jewelry on the way. Cassandra had barely closed the door behind them when the brunette brushed off her crown and earrings and tossed them across her bed. 

For one wild second, the bodyguard thought she would be treated to another show of the princess not caring for folding screens when the other girl turned around and marched up to her. She was close, and looked angry, and a tiny bit like she had swallowed something grimy and was going to be sick. It looked like she wanted to say something but failed to find the words which was a rarity on its own. Rapunzel, with all her books and art and ear for music, was if nothing else an free-spirited and expressive soul. To see her like this was unsettling.

She watched the princess gather steam and deflate a couple of times in front of her, her mood oscillating between self-righteous anger and crippling doubt. With her face scrunched and ears flushed, it really was quite adorable.

Cassandra kept her face as neutral as she could and wondered if she could just play the whole thing over if she pretended to be humongously stupid or outright lie. Her chances however proved to be lesser than nil as Rapunzel seemed to gather herself, or attempted for the umpteenth time, taking deep breaths to calm herself. It was like watching a child trying to put a lid on newly discovered feelings. 

The princess jabbed a finger straight into Cassandra’s sternum with a small, angry thud. “You’re competing in that stupid tournament.” She proclaimed decisively. “I’ll talk to the captain about a temporary replacement.”

Cassandra gaped in surprise. Out of all the possible topics to breach and painstakingly explain, this was certainly not what she had expected. “Raps?”

“Do you not want to?”

“Of course I do! I’m just- I didn’t think this to be-- .” She stuttered, finding all her previous fire from Rúna having fizzled. An angry Rapunzel had an odd effect on her. “I was expecting you to have other things to discuss.”

“Oh believe me, there’s plenty I want to talk about. Tha- _that--_!” The princess balled her hands into two fists, reminding the dark-haired girl of an aggravated, bloated squirrel. “I’m just not in a good state to do so right now!”

Cassandra remained silent because she didn’t quite know what to do. She was not stupid enough to _not_ know why she felt like a guilty sack of fish guts, she just didn’t know if she was brave enough to act on it, or if she even should. Because while she might not have wished for it but her friend was her duty, and duty never did well with the ache the princess so easily left on her heart. Her thoughts went to Arianna and it hurt in a whole different way.

Rapunzel tipped her head but didn’t quite meet her eyes and she was _so_ close. Cassandra could smell the lily water and oil on her skin, and something saltier that was pure _Raps_. She swallowed. 

“That blonde pine tree was right about one thing. You’re more than just my guard, Cass. I will not have you wilt in my shadow.” Her words carried a sad finality to them. “You trained to be a warrior, didn’t you? Then let’s see to it.”

Later, when they had said a tentative, jittery goodnight, She saw Rapunzel rummage through her closet to pull out what looked like a frying pan. She shrugged in confusion but did not ask.

***

Cassandra knew her night would be sleepless the moment she stepped into her room and saw the red glow of firelight. The sight made her immediately want to strangle the other occupant who audaciously sat on her bed with her naked feet propped up and sipping something dark from a bottle.

“Get out.” She demanded reflexively. 

“But you’re here.” Rúna explained with the sort of faux-innocence that only worked on simpletons and very young children.

“I think I’ve had enough of princesses for the night.”

“You’re just not drunk enough.”

Cassandra pointed to her wardrobe. “Is Elsa Arendelle hiding in there?”

The Ingvarri seemed to actually consider it for a few seconds before replying. “No.”

“Then I don’t care. Go sleep in the guest wing, go snog a maid. Good gods Runi, let me sleep. Alone.” She complained.

“You can’t make me. I invoke my guest right. You cannot deny a sister bedspace and warmth.” She sing-songed while taking another drag of liquor.

“Your bed is literally ten minutes from here and it’s early summer. I revoke your guest rights, you insufferable skirt-chaser.” Cassandra insisted and stepped away to change, trying to pretend that Rúna’s eyes didn’t bother her. After shuffling into her nightwear she walked back to her bed, removing her weapons on the way. “I’m not sleeping with you.”

The blonde wagged her eyebrows suggestively. “Remember when you would chase my skirts?”

“You looked awful in them.” 

Rúna choked on her drink in laughter and patted the mattress beside her. “How I have missed your prickly little moods. Fine then, don’t say I didn’t offer and there’s always tomorrow. Just so you know, I’m not giving up on you. I want my pathfinder.”

“And I want some goddamned sleep.” She muttered sourly and laid down, face up. Rúna studied her for a long time before putting away the bottle and joined her, propping herself up on one arm. It was familiar in a good nostalgic way. They had slept like this during hundreds of nights when their swords and sisters were the whole world.

“You’re angry with me.” Rúna winced.

“You left.” 

Cassandra offered no further explanation. They were quiet for a long while after that before the blonde princess sighed and nudged her shoulder playfully. 

“So, are you going to tell me about this Rapunzel girl then?”

Cassandra smothered herself with a pillow and groaned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I imagined that a well-adjusted Cassandra would be more open about her attraction to women. She's 22, considers one-night stands, likes looking at pretty maids and has an ex. Good for her. Poor Raps.
> 
> Also yes, according to Cass, Elsa is indeed the fairest of them all.


	4. Honoured

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cassandra shows off some true badassery. Eugene and Lance makes an entrance. Rapunzel start to ask the big questions and fails at peeling a fruit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta: Cyn, all hooray.

The days of the trade summit passed like a slog of faceless, colourful crowds in a city bursting with activity. While the King and his lords held court and discussed the pacts and contracts to come, Coronans, new and old, took to the news of the many foreign ships in the harbor like the spirited entrepreneurs they were known to be. 

Craftsmen and traders journeyed from Old Corona and beyond with wares and children to catch a sight of such fine folks and turn a coin or two. Businesses moved onto the streets under colourful banners and musicians gathered at the town squares like troupes of birds. You couldn’t turn a corner without someone heckling a price or peddling baubles. Even the sombre city guard with their armoured constables in red and gold was not immune to the festive mood.

For Cassandra and Rapunzel this meant a break from their otherwise rather maudlin routine. The princess’s classes were cancelled because her tutors were busy with their state duties and since she was only expected to attend the larger hearings from an observatory position, Rapunzel was suddenly given a welcomed respite. Cramming a decade's worth of education into the head of a sprightly girl in less than a year was never going to do well. Cassandra herself still rose at dawn to attend daily security updates with her father and the lieutenants of the city guard but was otherwise left to attend her normal duties.

Or so it would seem from the outside. 

In truth, Cassandra was no longer sure if she was still the attendant or if Rapunzel had flipped the proverbial floor on her by some magic the russet-haired girl possessed. 

She had woken the day after a certain Ingvarri blonde’s arrival to the news of having been entered as a contestant in the new Brave Challenge. The news had been delivered in the way of an early morning summon to the queen’s study where a fuming Rapunzel had stared down the amused pair of Arianna and her father. 

The queen and the captain both shot her baffled figure a questioning, if not slightly concerned look as they both signed a slip of paper and agreed that Stan could fill in for her during the actual competition. The princess would be stationed in a grand observatory box with her parents and the other guests, surrounded by royal guards.

The lapse in responsibility on her part chafed, but Cassandra would be lying if she did not admit herself to be excited for the chance to shine. Her father had taken her to every Challenge since she was old enough to know and she could still remember him hoisting her up to see the brave men and women below. She was looking forward to the games, and to finally be able to step into Dead Man’s Circle as a contestant. 

She still worried however, and her prickling anxiety over Rapunzel’s safety only increased as the days passed and the trickle of contestants arrived from beyond the walls. The royal spymaster had cast her net and caught whispers of money exchanging hands between men in the night. No sellsword had come forth to claim a royal bribe, and it made the captain frown deeper than Cassandra had ever seen her father do. 

“I will drop out and resume my position.” She told him at breakfast one day when they took the time to dine together for no other pleasure than to see each other’s face. Her father sipped his cup of coffee and looked at her with long and heavy calm.

“You will do no such thing.” He replied firmly, gently. “We cannot give away that we suspect something to be afoot. That will make them amend their plans and bring our investigations back to square one.”

“But-” She started. He quieted her by leaning over the table and refilling her drink. She noticed he still dropped two spoons of sugar into the milk, just like when she was a girl. 

“She will be safe if she stays in the box. Have some faith in my men, Cassie.” He mused before returning to his own food. “I look forward to see the fruits of your training.” His face broke into an open smile and she felt her chest swell, as it once did when she first learned to string a bow.

Rapunzel herself was the other element of surprise while the long days of meetings suffocated the court. Free of her normal duties, the princess spent the first days in the city, asking to be snuck out of the castle in a ratty cape, through the numerous secret passages Cassandra knew like the back of her palm. 

They had not talked about Rúna, or more specifically about the kiss and the conversation it would entail. The princess had obviously overheard more than she let on. The very name of the blonde seemed to dour her mood as she spent two mornings dragging Cassandra into the lower reaches of the city to meet up with the legendary scoundrel duo of Eugene Fitzherbert and Lance Armstrong. 

Lance was a happy nuisance at best, with his ill-timed humor and perchance for drama; Eugene however, made all of Cassandra’s hair stand on end. With his oily slick looks, stupid goatee and a criminal record longer than the city wall, he seemed everything she should be keeping away from the princess. Fate had its laugh however, that it had been he who stumbled upon Rapunzel in her prison and thus earned himself a lifetime of boons and a quite peculiar friendship. That hadn’t stopped Cassandra from dislocating his shoulder the first time he snuck up to give the princess a hug. 

At the present, the man who now walked an  _ un _ wanted criminal within the city walls, sat with the princess and Lance by a table in an almost empty tavern in deep discussion. Cassandra had been instructed to wait by the door which stung a little. It didn’t help that both Lance and Eugene were throwing her amused looks now and then as Rapunzel continued with her story. Both men would occasionally burst into laughter while the princess gesticulated angrily with a mug of cider. 

They left the tavern with Rapunzel looking resolute, the three of them exchanging amicable hugs and fist-bumps. Cassandra didn’t quite feel comfortable inquiring about the conversation. Rapunzel was entitled to her own friends.

After her meetings, the both of them would wander the markets in the streets. The princess unsurprisingly caught up in the cheer and liveliness of the city. She traipsed between the many stalls, picking up fruit or exotic wares in rapt fascination and stopped at every street performer toting his trade. Every trinket was a new discovery, worthy of awe and study and shoving in her bodyguard’s face, no street snack (especially those served deliciously on a stick) was to be neglected and everything had to be tried in full. 

Cassandra could almost believe that her friend had forgotten about their awkward not-argument if not for the other’s newfound clinginess. At first, it had been to avoid getting separated in crowds. Raps had pushed into her gently as she linked their arms together through the jam-packed streets. Then, she stopped to let go. Even as they emerged into the higher boulevards, where buildings were set in handsome flagstone and grey bricks rather than worn wood and clay, and the crowd thinned to a polite trickle, they stayed together, hands linked and it felt as natural as the rain fell to earth. 

The feeling of the other’s question was like a chain upon Cassandra’s chest. They had spoken less since then, and she would catch the younger girl looking at her when she thought Cassandra wouldn’t notice. She no longer studied her with the open, exuberant keenness she used to as if the older girl was a secret wonder. There was a trace of hesitation now, and a question left unasked as Rapunzel had learnt what it meant to be hurt by her own affections.

Back at the castle, separate again, was when Raps surprised the older girl the most when the princess outright suggested Cassandra to pick up her weapon training. The decisiveness expressed in taut freckled cheeks brooked no arguments as the  _ princess _ handed her practice weapons and nudged her towards the lower castle fields. The Challenge was a little more than a week away and they were slightly short on time.

“Cass?” Rapunzel started one day, while she watched the other finish a series of ripostes and strikes with sword, moving on to spears, only for her eyes to cloud over in hesitancy. The princess was seated on a grassy patch where she held onto a waterskin, a towel and most of Cassandra’s weapon repertoire, which made for a pretty comical sight.

“Yes?” The dark-haired girl huffed between long exhales. She stood wide-legged in a low battle pose, trying her hardest to keep her center of gravity stable as she weaved through another set of spearworks, jolting the heavy weapon in front of her in different sets of jabs and thrusts, never overextending against an imaginary foe.

“Did you want to be my guard?” The question was innocent, but loaded in their context.

Cassandra paused. She could be honest and just say no, which was true but not entirely  _ the truth _ . She never resented her return to the kingdom; six years was a long time without the only family she knew. 

“It was an honour to be asked.” She answered simply, focusing at the point of her spear rather than the other’s studious, hungry gaze. 

“But was the honour enough?” Rapunzel insisted, with something desperate in her voice. “Was it an honour longed for, and carried with pride, or a burden and a chain around your neck?”

Cassandra stopped and rested her weight upon the polearm, her right shoulder blade felt taut and ached dully from an old injury. “A duty always has weight, Raps, it’s never a flaunt or a carefree thing to carry.”

“Like a crown.” The younger girl muttered, almost as if speaking to herself. 

“That is an apt analogy, but my situation is hardly as severe.” Cassandra smiled approvingly.

“You just don’t want to answer my question, do you?” 

“How about I take a break and we practice your staffwork?” She suggested, earning herself a knowing eyeroll and an ireful sniff. 

After a while, when Rapunzel had changed to men’s clothes and twirling her staff, making strike after strike against her defense, the princess spoke again. Now with a lighter, more sincere tune while the evening sun sheared down her scalp. The dust they kicked up clung to her sweaty limbs and the air smelled of plum flowers and fresh cut hay from the stables.

“What would you do if you could do anything you wanted, Cass?” She inquired gently, as if the thought had slipped from her mind, a random lofty topic.

“Sail the twelve seas and travel the seven kingdoms.” She replied absentmindedly. It was the answer she gave Arianna as a child and it was nonetheless the truth. She realized her mistake the moment the words left her mouth.

Rapunzel paused her attacks and looked at her, just  _ looked  _ and proved that between the both of them perhaps Cassandra was the dummy all along.

***

During her six years venture in the north, Cassandra had spent three years as a swordling and three years as a sword sister. If this path had taught her anything it would probably be that optimism was dangerous. Faith didn’t guide your blade and hope would never fill your sails. The best warriors prepared for victory just like skilled sailors always plotted a safe course. So when she failed to recognize the conflict heading her way in the shape of an audacious, troublemaking, royal blonde, she could do nothing but blame herself in great consternation.

On the third afternoon, while they were lugging Cassandra’s training weapons into the fields, they found Rúna leaning against a tree with her own retainer in her shadow. The blonde’s eyes lit up at the sight of her. Today, her golden braid was pinned in a wreath-like arrangement around her head, and Cassandra remembered midsummer and the other with flowers in her hair. She gave Rapunzel a proper bow, but her attention slipped right past her to Cassandra.

“I heard you’re gonna compete after all.” Rúna smirked, showing teeth.

“Good evening, your highness.” Cassandra rolled her eyes and sent the other a glare, hoping the warrior would catch on. An exchange between two princesses was always a formal affair, anyone in the castle could be watching, and she hoped the both of them knew as much. “And yes, you’ve heard correct.”

“Spar with me then. I haven’t tossed you flat for way too long.” Rúna replied, winking, dashing her hopes of diplomatic propriety.

“You’ve never tossed me flat, period, I’m better at grappling than you. Also some of us have work.” She shot back.

“I must be remembering a different sort of sparring then.” The other quipped, the retainer shook her head in tired resignation. “But no matter, I want us to spar. Don’t you want to see how far I’ve progressed while you were standing guard? With your royal highness’s permission of course.” The warrior princess inquired in a voice which expected no refusal. Rapunzel fidgeted nervously under the other princess’s attention, but held her head high and did not flinch. 

And as much as Cassandra hated to admit, Rúna’s words were tempting. She had made sure to keep up with her training, putting in long hours every morning doubled at as often as she could at night, but it was true that the year had been a standstill in regard to her art. Her sword was unbloodied, and it left her restless.

Rapunzel’s hand upon her arm had a calming effect, the familiar touch grounded her as they exchanged glances. 

_ Do you want to? _

The younger princess seemed to ask, trusting, inquiring and with a grudging glint of rebellious fighting spirit shining in her otherwise forest-deep eyes. 

_ Yes. _

Rapunzel gave a barely detectable dip of head, a royal acknowledgement, she then clasped her hands and gave Rúna verbal permission. The princess joined the Ingvarri retainer, a spindly, tall woman with wavy, auburn hair and sharp sort of face as an observer at the side, leaving the earthy, packed field open for the two sword sisters. 

This particular part of the castle yard was mostly enclosed, between two administrative wings with a low wall to the north where natural cliffs dropped off towards the wharfs, and empty aside from a few truly ancient white oaks with their gnarled, leathery roots. It was fittingly secluded aside from a few castle guards moving about their posts. 

“Ho,” Rúna’s toothed smile widened into an almost predatory grin. She tossed her rich, burgundy cape and sword to her second who gathered her things wordlessly, then handed her a battle axe from the small pile of practice weapons. The short-sleeved tunic she wore underneath did little to hide a physique attuned to action. The foreign princess’s tall form sauntered into the field with just the right blend of haughtiness and caution. Cassandra sighed tiredly.

“Runi, pick sword.” She admonished before she could help it. “That was always your weapon, you’re  _ Honoured  _ for it for heaven’s sake. Do you  _ mean _ to insult me?”

“Come and make me, storm-eyes. Maybe you’ll find me changed.” Rúna shrugged and began to advance on her, looking like a prowling mountain lion. “Or maybe you’re the one changed. Is your sword even a match for mine now, after standing around for so long? Did you binge on sweets and smell the flowers all day? You look so soft and smooth, you might as well be a palace cushion.”

“Always the talker.” Cassandra drawled, shifting her own practice blade between her hands, satisfied with the length and weight. She tightened her sleeves and tossed her real sword to the side, joining the other. She widened her stance, making it low and loose, _ balanced _ , like the ebbs and rolls of waves; her mind slowly emptying. This would be nothing like fighting with her father’s men.

“Half the raiders we ever fought ran at the sound of the noise you make.”

“Funny, I remember you being just as loud.”

Rúna stopped for one fatal moment before getting in range, her tall form at ease in light swagger. Then, they both exploded into action.

The Ingvarri lunged in a powerful overhead arch, her body taut and angular in a well-practiced swing, utilizing the speed that came with her weapon’s weight and power. Cassandra did not meet her, easily gliding to her left where the other swung right, aiming a short swipe at Rúna’s unprotected side, followed immediately by a sideway cut. Her opponent moved with her, demonstrating the footwork of experience as she edged just out of Cassandra’s reach, a new swing followed as quickly as she regained her momentum, moving in a semicircle.

For a while, they stepped forth, circled and forth again, swing against strike, one dodging the other pursuing; equal spectres in motion, violent and bright.

Cassandra herself stayed lightly afoot, keeping her guard centered and carefully just out of Rúna’s flow of hard, precise strikes. She did not parry, but focused on deflecting, unwilling to meet the sheer power of an axe with her blade. 

She had fought sword versus axe before, hundreds of times in camp, against young men and women both stronger and larger than Rúna. The princess however, was Honoured, and so proven in all arts and exceptional in one. Cassandra remembered the trials of the Sword title and kept the danger the other represented close at heart. 

Rúna Signesdottir could most certainly pick up any weapon and give most soldiers a good wallop using nothing but the blunt end. She was confident but cautious, lacking neither discipline nor skill. No one entered the ranks of Ingvarri Honour warriors lightly, all were worth a dozen blades.

But then, so was  _ she _ .

Cassandra wondered if Rúna had forgotten.

Dodging another set of diagonal attacks, she feinted slightly to her left, letting her arm drop just enough to be noticeable. The other woman reacted by pure instinct and leaped at her weakened guard. Expecting this, her breathing slowed in focus, tempered yet yielding like the river’s flow. Cassandra’s thoughts stilled as the next few heartbeats slowed to a fog, like she was under water; then she came up, and the world was ice.

She saw the swing come, slowly,  _ so slowly _ and stepped through its path, gliding low beneath Rúna’s arm while pivoting on her left foot to rotate in the opposing direction. She glides, breathes,  _ moves _ silently, like the fall of winter’s first snow, and strikes with the agility of storm-wrought lightning. When she emerges she’s at the other’s back.

Rúna realizes what’s coming a heartbeat too late but tries to twist out of her way. The result is Cassandra’s sword connecting with the top-side of the princess’s axe in a desperate attempt to block. The motion leaves her vulnerable for a single moment, but it is enough and the dark-haired girl kicks the taller woman in the back of her knee, forcing her down with a yelp. When Rúna looks up, a small dagger is at her neck.

The match was over. The ingvarri was breathing hard and made a pacifying gesture to her retainer who had unsheathed her sword the moment Cassandra drew steel.

Rúna looked up at her with a grimace of pain and what could only be described as pure, childish awe. It was warm and it made her heart race. Cassandra realized she was smiling like an idiot.

“Go and pick up your  _ svard _ , Runi.” She scowled in good humor. “I demand a rematch with your proper arms, or did you forget that I have the rights too?”

“Hard to forget now.” The Ingvarri princess winced and ceded her defeat, rolling her shoulders. She went to pick up a dulled practice blade like the one Cassandra used, then nodded at her second and Rapunzel who both stood with their mouths agape, unsure of what they had witnessed, or if such speed was even human. 

Rúna pointed back at her dark-haired sword sister and spoke, her voice raspy, and reverent with weight. “See there, ladies-- your highness and my dear Siru; that is Cassandra of the Eversun Coast, sword of Corona and pathfinder of the Alsvinder crew,  _ Shadow  _ Honoured among the Ingvarri. Let her name be known.” 

The retainer, Siru, turned her head so violently one might have worried, her face a mask of naked comprehension before swallowing and parroting _ let her name be known _ in acquiescence. Rapunzel, who only understood half of the jumble of titles, could only stare at the woman who often saw to her whims and carry her books. 

***

It took for someone to notify the queen that someone was holding a violent brawl behind the clerical wards to bring the fight to an end. 

The day was long past noon. Palace pages had started to bring in firewood and the maids were drawing water for the chambers when Queen Arianna strode into the yard with the impervious air of a woman expecting an explanation. Auburn-haired Siru, was looking slightly less composed and a bucket and a half more worried at the two warriors who were still going at it in the mud. Rapunzel just held onto her waterskin, her entire concentration enraptured by what was going on before her.

“My staff tells me there’s a sailor’s brawl ongoing behind my office, would anyone care to explain to me what’s happening here?” Arianna clipped in an amused, dolce tune.

Princess and retainer looked back at her helplessly. Cassandra decked Rúna across her face.

The blonde princess merely hissed, grabbing onto the other’s shirt as she staggered back, twisting the cloth up like a snare and kicking hard at Cassandra’s feet. Both combatants stumbled to the ground in a heap of angry shouts and exhausted limbs. After hours, they looked more like mad drunks than competent warriors. 

The dark-haired girl ended on top, trying to gain purchase with her sword arm to push the blade’s edge against the other’s ribs to force a win until Rúna unapologetically kneeled her in the stomach. She gasped as the air left her lungs and saw stars. The Ingvarri used her momentary shock to roll them over and kneeled on her chest, gasping with blood between her teeth.

“Come on my ship. Be my pathfinder.”

“The frost hells _ take you! _ ” Cassandra grunted, spitting.

“That’s not a  _ no _ , storm-eyes.” Rúna panted.

“Yea? Come closer then--” 

Cassandra let out a loud scream as she twisted her leg around the taller girl’s midsection, using her whole bodyweight and  _ rolle- _

“That’s quite enough, both of you.” Both young women stalled. The command in the voice cut through the battle haze like a hot blade. 

The queen stepped out onto the field, her presence brooked no arguments. They stared at the regal, purple figure for a few seconds, then let go of each other like two halves splitting apart. Both fell back against the trampled mud like limp sacks, breathing greedily as if emerging from water.

“Honestly, I wonder what Signe would say about this.” Arianna commented dryly, gesturing to Siru to help her liege. The sharp-looking woman did not need to be asked twice. “But then, knowing her, I doubt her reaction would be one of disapproval.”

“Mother prefers her children lively, your majesty.” Rúna rasped brightly, she stumbled to a standing position with one arm slung over her retainer’s shoulders, legs not quite carrying. “She would let us finish, and then suggest we change to spears.”

“She would.” Arianna said fondly, her eyes softening at the memory of her old friend. “I trust you have a medic at your disposal?” 

“We do.” Siru replied with a stern bow as her princess let out a series of wet coughs.

“Good. See to her highness then and I wish you a good evening. Rapunzel dear? A little help here.” The queen said wearily at Cassandra who was struggling to even sit up as the Ingvarri stumbled away. The brown-haired princess yelped and ran up to assist. It took both der Sonne women to prop the dark-haired girl up, and she didn’t stand until Rapunzel bodily lifted her with surprising strength.

Leaning heavily into the princess, the taller girl tried to bow at her queen. With her shirt ripped, decorated with mud and combined with a head of bristly, battle-romped hair, it was a rather sad attempt. A few strokes at her dark locks revealed a bruised and equally bedraggled face, matted with sweat and dirt. 

Arianna chose to not comment and merely looked at the two children with her hands on her hips. Rapunzel’s eyes darted nervously between her and Cassandra, her mind seemingly working in panic while trying to form an explanation for why her personal guard had been found battling to near death with foreign royalty.

“Mom, she didn’t--! I gave her permission to-” She started and was dismissed with a small wave.

“Your majesty.” Cassandra greeted her with the voice of someone dying, her exhaustion palpable and thick like rust. 

“Rapunzel, help me carry her to her personal quarters, we can continue this after the castle physician has tended to her.” 

“My sword-”

“I have it.” Rapunzel whispered, and they were off.

A short, if not somewhat unsteady trip and a fussy affair later, Cassandra was clean and done being poked at by the same short, rat-faced healer she had seen all her life; she was then promptly stuffed into bed with a slightly more piqued Arianna by her side. Rapunzel sat on the bed and held onto the older girl’s hand, this made the queen raise her eyebrows. 

The atmosphere in the room sank into an odd tension. Arianna did not confer with both of the children often, as her role in each of their lives made things delicate in more than one capacity. 

Two girls, one raised and one returned, both her pride and hopes but none of them hers truly. How remarkable she thought, that they seemed to have found each other instead. Destiny it seems would always have its laugh. She looked between them, both girls were avoiding her eyes nervously.

“Cassandra, I charged you with Rapunzel’s safety, to be her eyes and sword.” She started.

“Mom,  _ please _ , I shouldn’t have--” The princess begged. Cassandra groaned as she sat up and squeezed her daughter’s hand, then let go lingeringly. The girl stopped.

“I am sorry, your majesty.” Cassandra said. “I should have known better.”

“Yes, but I’m not unsympathetic to your position. It’s hard being asked a request of royalty and refuse.” She pointed out. “Which is why the attending royal must do so instead.” 

Rapunzel winced beneath her calm gaze. 

“Open confrontation between royals and their personal retainers can never be seen or heard of during a diplomatic gathering like a trade summit, do you both understand? Too many eyes and ears are focused on the castle, and not all who have gathered are Corona’s friends. We’re lucky Rúna-Idun is a minor princess and not spearheading the talks.”

“Yes ma'am.” They replied in unison. She smiled.

“Formal lesson aside, Cassie, I’m not angry.” 

“... your majesty?”

“I know you and the princess trained together. And this being Ingvarri, of course it would come to blows because just hugging would be too sentimental and humane.” She scoffed. “And you were probably equally to blame.”

Cassandra stayed quiet but nodded. The child was never really good at lying when confronted directly. Arianna sighed internally and turned her attention to her daughter who looked like she wanted to shrink into herself, remembering she did have a different motive to seek Cassie out.

“Rapunzel dear, I need to speak to Cassandra alone. Give us the room for five minutes.”

“...mom?” The girl looked bewildered. “I… alright.”

The door had barely closed behind her slight, slumped figure before Cassandra spoke up.

“She wasn’t to blame. I wanted the fight.” She insisted, all of sudden with fire in her eyes.

“Of course you did,” Arianna took note of the response with interest, smiled and sat down at the end of her bed. “We sent you to learn the sword, not to be a librarian. No, I wanted to talk about something else.”

The girl looked at her tiredly, expectantly. 

“Your father just updated me on some worrying security details. The spymaster’s agents confirm a pattern of odd fighters arriving in the city with the excuse of partaking in the Brave Challenge, too few to be truly noteworthy but too many for us to turn a blind eye. I’ve been told they look like the nasty kind.” 

They were quiet for a few moments, letting the implications sink in.

“Do you think they’re after Rapunzel?”

“She -is- the new variable on the political scene since me and the king never settled for adoption. Corona has been without a heir presumptive for so long people have gotten used to the idea of a shift in power. Foreign nations have most likely already cast their support with Corona’s older noble families as contestants for the crown, and for them I imagine her return must feel like a disastrous turn of events.” Even as she said it, Arianna could feel how the room seemed to turn chilly as Cassandra’s face stilled to one of controlled death. Her own heart would contract painfully in fear as well, as the very idea of losing her daughter again, and  _ permanently _ , made her feel cold and nauseous.

“I still believe Rapunzel will be safe with us during the Challenge, but I want you to be our eyes in the games. I want you to watch the other contestants, both the sanctioned warriors of each nation and the individual participants that’s been dropping in since the beginning of the week. Your father must be informed at once if something is amiss.” She explained carefully. “Will you do this for me?” 

“Of course.” Cassandra replied fiercely, then remembered herself. “...your majesty.” 

Arianna gave her a long and fond look, and cursed the formal restraints that stopped Cassandra from addressing her by their proper relation. She combed her hands through dark, wavy tresses gently and placed a kiss upon her forehead, smelling brine and freshly cut grass, before standing. The girl mumbled in compliant embarrassment.

Outside, Rapunzel was marching up and down the corridor in nervous impatience. The girl stopped to give her a brief hug before rushing into the room, fussing over Cassandra terribly. As the door closed behind her, the queen saw the princess hang onto the bedside, trying to feed the dark-haired girl a whole jug of water. Her face was a vision of gentle adoration. 

The queen blinked slowly in surprise. What an interesting development! Arianna reflected and started the long walk towards her own chambers. She wondered how she would break the news to Frederic but decided it would be a task for another day.

***

“Stupid princess.”

“Well  _ excuse _ me.”

The sound of ceramic clattering pulled Cassandra’s attention to the side. Rapunzel, bright-eyed and looking as if someone had served her a particular bad-tasting fruit, stared across at her listless form on the bed. That lasted for a whole two seconds before the corner of her mouth curled up again in a soft, bashful pout. Seated cross-legged on her bed with her knees pulled up and touching Cassandra’s side, she picked up an orange and started to arduously wrestle with the peel.

“Not you.” Cassandra clarified unnecessarily with a tired voice. Under normal circumstances, she might have had a more acute reaction to the princess being in her room and  _ on her bed _ , but the fatigue and painkillers made her feel loopy. 

“I would hope not.” Rapunzel sniffed cheerfully. “Do you have any idea how hard it was to carry you  _ and _ your sword? How do you walk anywhere with this strapped to your waist? It’s heavy and so  _ long _ .” 

“It’s an acquired skill. Easier with a proper belt too.” She moved her arms, testing them for the aching soreness she knew would follow after over exertion and glanced down in embarrassment. “Thanks for carrying me. We went a little overboard, I guess.”

Rapunzel rolled her eyes, finally finding purchase with her nails and tearing a good chunk of the offending peel off. 

“And Rúna is not actually stupid. Just difficult…. and  _ so _ stubborn, once she sets her mind to something she wants--” Cassandra speaks and trails off, shaking her head. There had been a particularly nasty crew of raiders from the Southern Isles plaguing fishing villages, Rúna had tore them through ice filled fjords for weeks in pursuit. “It made her unstoppable at times, but right now it’s just giving me a big headache.”

They fell into an amicable silence while Rapunzel continued to struggle with the fruit, making Cassandra really wonder about the princess’s diet previous to Corona.

“Cass?"

"Yes, Raps?"

"What’s a pathfinder?”

The princess scooted closer, her open, expectant face tracing the blue, slowly blackening marks on her bruised arms and the one on her face. They wandered past her, to the small, painted figurines of white wood on her headboard; tiny soldiers and horses and animals she treasured; to the small pile of laundry in the corner and the odd personal armoire. She seemed a droplet of colour amidst the sombre stonewalls and her spartan decor, her hair tinted gold in the candle light.

“I suppose you would ask that.” Cassandra chuckled.

“Well, I did just spend hours watching the two of you screaming about it while waving swords. Seemed important. The princess really wants you for.... the job? It is a job right?”

She nodded, then slowly, painfully, sat up so she was face to face with the younger girl. Cassandra fiddled with the soft fabric of her sleeves.

“How much do you know about the Ingvarri navy?” She asked.

Rapunzel furrowed her brows thoughtfully. “Not much, I read about the camps you trained in. And that all youths are expected to do a minimum service of two years in the military after you’re done.”

Cassandra nodded. “I chose to go to the navy. Partly because I always liked the sea, but mostly because of Rúna.

Rapunzel deflated a bit at her words, not as much as she previously did but still looked crestfallen like a kicked puppy. Involuntarily, she grabbed onto the younger girl’s hand, physical contact always seemed to calm her down.

“She was a good sailor and probably one of the best helmsmen out of our camp. And as a princess, it seemed rather natural that she would eventually get command of a ship. I, on the other hand, was always quite apt at cartography and navigation, it seemed like we were a good match.” She explained carefully. Truth was they hadn’t been just a good match, they had been  _ perfect _ . She could still remember standing by the dipping prow, clothes soaked by sprays of white foam while their ship made its own speed, holding monocular and maps in hand. “We were hearthmates as swordlings, lived together and with eight other girls, so we got along well-”

“Oh I bet.” Rapunzel commented with a sardonic bend of lips.

“Raps,” She squeezed her hand pleadingly, too tired and beaten for drama. “All Ingvarri ships have a navigator, someone aside from the helmsman to mind the planning and the course. Usually, you’re already tapped for it at camp if you show the skills. A  _ pathfinder _ is a navigator who has successfully broken into new land or waters, mapped their findings and guided his or her ship back to safety.”

Rapunzel  _ ooh _ -ed, looking wide-eyed and impressed.

“Cass, that is amazing!”

“...maybe a little?” Cassandra guffawed, embarrassed. “I was made pathfinder after a stunt we pulled off the Northern expanse. We didn’t even mean to make any discoveries, just kids chasing the glory of being the first to sail through Svartssjoen and ending up almost starving to death at sea. One of the sisters was starting to have hallucinations when I finally found a safe passage.”

“But you made it back! And you… drew a map, which earned you the title?”

“Yeah, I turned in my charting and it turns out another crew made the same journey, more prepared of course, and confirmed my findings.” 

“So you’re like an  _ explorer _ , from a storybook of adventures and dashing deeds.” There were metaphorical stars in Rapunzel’s eyes at her words, her mind obviously going far off to the grand tales of her books. “And what about your Honoured title? What does it mean to be a Shadow, aside from being all cool and ominous sounding?”

“I’m really fast and quite sneaky.” She paused and hummed in thought. “That’s about it. Don’t tell anyone.”

The princess giggled.

“No wonder Rúna wants you back.” Rapunzel mused with a slight frown. “I just wish she would be...  _ nicer _ about it.”

“She’s not used to not getting her will, comes with being a younger princess and all.” Cassandra grimaced vaguely. “She’s a good leader in warfare, but this behaviour of doing whatever she wants, to whoever she wants, and just expecting people to fall in line? I indulged her when we were kids, when I would have done  _ anything _ to stay with her, but now? Hardly.”

There was a moment of silence as the younger girl digested her words. Cassandra let out a long sigh. She saw little point in hiding what she and Rúna had been to each other. Why hide the truth when it was in the past?

“What changed?” Rapunzel spoke after a while, softly.

“She left to follow her ambitions, and expected me to wait for her. I didn’t.” She shrugged non-committedly. “I found dreams of my own and wanted something for myself. I learned to be crew without her. I missed  _ home _ .”

“You made your own choices.” Rapunzel finished in a whisper and looked like she was considering a deep philosophical question. “And you want her to respect that, princess or not.”

Cassandra blinked surprisedly. “Yeah, I guess.”

The princess nodded sagely at her confirmation with a small noise. Then, she handed her half of the mangled orange she had been working on. It looked like it had been butchered by a toddler. The peel was gone, but the fruit was soggy and torn in several places where the princess’s nails had punctured the flesh. Huge swathes of white and yellow pith were still intact. It was an uneven, citrus smelling blob. 

Rapunzel looked at her with pride and juice drenched fingers. Cassandra accepted the fruit, and thought it tasted sweet and tart and a bit like sunlight.

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So finally some Cassunzel moments! And Cass gets some quality time with her father, which I'm always a sucker for considering how much she needed a parental figure to just get her in the actual show.
> 
> This was a fun chapter to write. I always intended for this story to have fighting since I didn't send Cassandra off to study among vikings to have her sit around xD. Next chapter is going to be the Challenge! And basically me answering: how badass can you really make a Cassandra who was trained and cared for properly? The answer being: yeeees!
> 
> Curious note: In this universe, Arendelle do indeed exist and are on amicable terms with Ingvar. Runa-Idun is in fact named to honour Iduna.


	5. The Choice Which Makes You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The tournament begins! And may the best fighter win? The chapter where the author went full SHONEN ANIME with no regrets, soundtrack and all.
> 
> Written while listening to Haikyu! season 3 OST, and it kinda shows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta: Cyn, all yaaaay.

The last few days before the Challenge begins passed in flashes of bustling activity. The longer the talks dragged on, the more haggard the king looked and the queen wasn’t so far behind. The maids gossiped about the royal couple assembling in private with the admirals and ambassadors of Ingvarr to iron out the final details, sending for refreshments long into the night. The city followed in tangible, bloated excitement as a literal army of carpenters and helpers finished the arena where the Brave Challenge would be held. It would be a grand affair, with seats enough to settle all the guests and half the city.

Cassandra spent those last days doing light training; running, basic physicals, and cycling through the three weapons she had chosen to take part in. Her bruises turned dark to green and then yellow, and were almost gone on the fortnight of the big day. Rapunzel, well-meaning but without a hint of medical knowledge, had fussed extensively over the ones on her face.

She visited Xavier with her tournament approved gear and the blacksmith had croned happily over her participation like an odd, concerned uncle. They sat for some time, swapping stories and sharing tea while he worked and she realized how much she had missed him. He was a good friend of her father’s and extended the same kindness to her. The fine-mannered craftsman had made every single piece of training equipment she had ever owned ever since she cut herself practicing with her father’s halberd. 

She sat down in the smithy while he worked on a reinforced crossguard, grip and pommel, and a dulled replacement for the single edged blade she usually carried across her back. He then handed her a slick pair of dark leather gloves with thin, overlaid plates of matted metal on the back. She pulled them on, fastening them carefully along her forearms.

“They fit perfectly.” She said, surprised as she flexed her fingers. It was fine, meticulous work. 

The old man grunted and nodded to his workstation. “I meant to give them to you when they sent you off but I never finished them in time.” She stared at him and his kind, mirthful eyes, into a mind full of mystical stories and lore, and swallowed the lump in her throat. In her mind she was ten again, and lord Arnheim’s son had bent her practice sword to a mess. She had barely made it into the forge before Xavier took the blade from her hands. “They’re yours now.”

“I don’t kno--” She started with something thick in her voice, then stopped. “ _ Thanks _ , Xavier.”

The old blacksmith looked her up and down, smiling tiredly as if there was a secret she wasn’t aware of. “A swordswoman must be careful with her hands. You will carry a great many things in your life, Cassandra; a blade is only the first of them.”

“Yeah, like axes and spears. And bows.” She nodded but was slightly perplexed, feeling as if he had left something unsaid.

Xavier let out a loud guffaw of a laugh and dunked her on the shoulder, his eyes twinkling in the way old people did when she said something particularly silly. “Yes, let's start with those. Time will tell you the rest.” 

“Do you always have to speak in riddles?”

“Why on earth would I not? An old smith must pass his time. Now leave your armor and go see Feldspar about your boots, I already told him you’re coming. And do get a haircut while you’re at it.”

“What’s wrong with my hair?”

Xavier clucked his tongue and mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like ‘seaweed’.

Much later, with her gear sent to the castle, boots fixed and shined, hair trimmed and tied back, and sporting a brand new pair of gloves fit for a royal knight, Cassandra was feeling pretty good and hurried towards the lower districts, by the market boroughs, to meet up with Rapunzel. 

The princess was in the company of Eugene, Lance and a boy named Varian; the group was sitting by a small coffee shop, scoping a green, gelatinous dessert from cones of ice in merry conversation. Pete, who had been assigned as security detail, looked pitifully grateful when she showed up to relieve his duty.

“Cass!” The princess’s face lit up like a sun at the sight of her, then made a small ‘o’ with her mouth once she looked her over. “You look different-- you look so  _ handsome! _ ”

Cassandra blushed from her neckline to ears. Rapunzel, who went on showering her with accolades, did not notice as she traipsed around the older girl in a circle. The boys merely looked between them quietly with similar knowing smirks; Varian studied her with big eyes and a mouth full of iced jelly.

“Not bad, dragon lady, not bad at all.” Eugene commented while Lance nodded sagely. 

“She looks amazing! I’m sure you’ll trounce the competition tomorrow.” Rapunzel cheered, as if she could defeat the other contestants with looks. “And speaking of that, Cass, you said you would take me to see the boats!”

She blinked. They had spent some time talking about the designs of Ingvarri ships, and she might have mentioned something to that intention. She didn’t remember Rapunzel taking a particular interest; but on the other hand, the princess was curious about  _ everything. _

“Right now?”

“Yes, since everyone is here it’s perfect! Varian in particular really wanted to study them.”

“What for?” She asked, unsure about what the sailors would make of a kid crawling all over the longships.

“The fluid mechanics of their designs! Ingvarri ships are so light and use so little timber to make, compared to ours! Also, I don’t get to come to the city often so I really want to see the harbor.” Varian spoke really quickly, and excitedly as if his words were struggling to keep up with his thoughts. “Will you take us?”

His round, boyish face lined up with Rapunzel’s owl-eyed plea and she sighed at the onslaught of endearing hope, relenting with a slight nod. The boy and the princess cheered.

After that, the company made their way through market districts, squeezing between loaded carts and tightly packed stalls. They made it past the shoddier houses built on the old wharfs, a forest of wind-beaten bricks, mortar and wooden roofs clinging to each other like mussels by the sea. Attempts had been made to clean the area up, with sandclay to mend stone and new streetlights in dark metal.

She hadn’t been to this part of the city in a long while. None of the night establishments were open yet to the bodyguard’s relief. She saw a few workers putting up lanterns for the night, but there were no nightingales walking the streets. Rapunzel stopped to look at a few colorful posters of undressed men and women with her customary astonishment before being bodily removed by Cassandra and Eugene combined.

Finally, they arrived at the piers just west of The Eye, where the beach met the sea in shallow, long dunes. Dirty looking children in clothes of grey and blue ran along the waterfront, collecting clams and cockles beside older siblings lugging bundles of driftwood. Fishermen carrying harpoons and nets crowded the berths, smoking, chatting, and settling into their boats. Their group drew a few curious eyes but most let them pass without a second look.

The Ingvarri had docked by end of the beach, their shallow longships neatly lined by the sturdier galleys of Equis and a couple of Bayan schooners. One ship in particular caught Cassandra’s eyes. She drew a sharp breath at the sight of a familiar, oaken prow and stopped to run a hand down dark, seaworn wood. She led her group to the gangplank. 

“The Alsvinder, the  _ moon-wolf _ .” She said, her voice almost reverent. “I sailed with her for three years.”

“This--” Rapunzel started.

“This is incredible!” Varian exclaimed, his excitement almost palpable. “Look at the shape! She’s so shallow! I bet you don’t even need a pier to dock her, you could just row her straight to the shore!” 

The noise drew some attention as a few heads peeked over the gunwale. Cassandra recognized Siru. They nodded briskly in greeting, like Ingvarri sailors do.

“Can I help you, Honoured?” Siru asked, her accent slightly pitched.

“My friends here--” She fumbled for words, unprepared to be addressed by her title. It felt awkward but satisfying at once, which was an odd mix of ups and downs. “My friends wanted to see the longships out of curiosity. Could we have permission to board?”

Siru seemed to think this over, she looked at each and one of them, her eyes staying in particular at Rapunzel as she frowned. “One at a time. The crew is busy.”

Varian turned to Rapunzel with pleading, hopeful eyes. The princess patted his back and shoved him in the direction of the gangplank. The boy didn’t need to be told twice as he shuffled up with notebook in hand, eager and exuberant. Siru looked after him with something akin to tolerant irritation and Cassandra got the sneaking suspicion that the woman didn’t like to talk much. 

“You should come aboard, make sure he doesn’t break anything.” She added drily.

“Oh, but you said-- ” Eugene began but the woman cut him off, gesturing to Cassandra.

“The Honoured is crew,” Siru explained factually. “She needs no permission.”

Cassandra looked over at the princess who nodded back encouragingly, as if making up an excuse and reuniting her with the ship that made her a name was something she planned all along. That wouldn’t surprise her  _ per se.  _ It was a very Rapunzel thing to do, sweet, well-meaning and missing a lot of the facts.

Giving the younger girl a grateful smile, she left her with the rest of the group. Lance made a promise of keeping everyone in check.

She strode onboard, reveling in the nostalgia that washed over her at the sight of crewmen at their stations. A few familiar faces greeted her heartily as they passed by but most had changed to an older, grittier group of career sailors. Varian was talking animatedly to an amused second mate, gesticulating at the masts and bulwark as if they were wonders.

“You’re not asking for Signesdottir?” Siru asked.

“You gave the permission to board, so I assumed she’s ashore. Varian’s making enough noise to rouse the cabins.” She shrugged and sat down by the helm out of habit, it was her old position. Varian was indeed making a spectacle while the crew indulged the strange, enthusiastic boy. “Rúna never took to a docked ship well.”

“Could say the same about the ship. It’s a good thing she gets a run of the taverns. We get more done with her blowing off some of that castle steam before captain-ing again.”

“The perils of a young helmsman.” Cassandra chuckled, deciding that she liked Siru. Rúna’s moods always turned dark when she had to be a captain at land, unless you could distract her with ale or pleasant company. “Who holds the navigator post now?”

Siru nodded down the deck, to a young, bare-chested man with a dark mop of hair sitting at the prowl, fastening rope to the neck of some oars. He glanced up at them occasionally but seemed mostly focused at his task.

“Njall. Fresh out of the Lonholm camp. A bit thin to seem a warrior but has a good head on his shoulders.” Siru said, then filled in rather pointedly. “He’s a fine sailor. Won’t be without a job if you choose to join us.”

Cassandra didn’t reply to that and Siru didn’t make for more conversation. The other excused herself to tend to duties which left her alone to oversee Varian’s scientific exploits. 

She sat there for a while and took in the lull of the harbor and the slow, familiar sight of a well-kept crew going about their job, mending sailcloth and reinforcing tacks and ropes; a boy and an older girl was scrubbing the deck, both dressed in the low necked tanks like kelpers. She tried to imagine herself at sea again, salt-beaten and adrift like the gulls above port. It was an attractive picture, with her title made and worth proven, and she saw a life of a great many years at sea, charting and mapping until her name would outlive her in the great libraries of Ingvarr and Equis. It was--  _ would _ be a good life, worthy of all her talents and toils.

Among the Ingvarri, she would be free.

Then, the white spires of the castle, and in particular Rapunzel’s tower came into her sight and it struck her as a sobering, rueful truth. That she might have made her destiny when she chose to come home. 

_ To have one’s heart aligned with duty is truly a devastating thing. What is freedom really, when our burdens fetters us so lovingly? _

Sometime later, she was dragging a still eagerly sketching Varian off the ship, when she caught the odd sight of Rúna’s tall, athletic shape talking to a considerably shorter Rapunzel at the end of the pier.

The Ingvarri towered over the slighter, but no less formidable princess as the latter crossed her arms in front of her and exchanged words in rapt, dignified fashion. Rúna seemed intrigued, while Rapunzel looked irritated at the other’s easy, off-putting demeanor.

The both of them said polite, stiff good-byes and parted. Rúna looked past Rapunzel and winked at Cassandra who raised one brow at the display. Rapunzel stomped her way back to the group, past her bodyguard and stabbed a finger at Eugene who seemed taken aback but was visibly amused at something unsaid.

“See it done.” Rapunzel commanded him, and tossed a glare at Lance as well as she began to walk back towards the city. Both men nodded mutely and followed suit.

Cassandra turned to Rúna who had walked straight up and slapped her happily in the back. She smelled of ale and something flowery, with a tang of smoke. 

“What was that about?” She frowned, slightly worried about the answer. Rúna just grinned. 

“Nothing you won’t enjoy.” The warrior princess affirmed cryptically, making Cassandra all the more worried.

***

The day of the Brave Challenge started with the sound of brass horns announcing the contestants at the eight hour, drawing guests and citizens from all the boroughs across the city. Coronans showed up in strength, not to be outdone by their foreign guests. Colourful tents had been pitched along the arena for refreshments and preparations where the warriors could find some respite from the sun and each other.

Cassandra sat by the tent for the Coronan contestants with a flagon of water and swept her eyes over the gathered warriors closely, balking at the sheer size of the crowds. 

A minor trade summit had certainly turned out to be something slightly more with almost every country represented by a few champions. There were the Ingvarri with their stoic bulk, well-equipped archers from Equis, a few bladewalkers from Koto and several mixed groups independents. Two Nesderian spearsmen caught her attention with their light armor in plated bronze; another odd fellow in the Bayan group with a longbow made her fingers itch in nervousness.

She took a heavy swig from her drink while studying them, looking for signs of rough play or undeclared weaponry. Some of her father’s men did the same, planted for the purpose of espionage. She also counted another few pages from the castle moving about, offering guests water and sugared bread, no doubt on the spymaster's behest.

From the corner of her eyes, she saw the King hold his welcoming speech; she saw the Coronan flag raised, followed by the rest of the national banners of their guests; and most of all, she saw Arianna and Rapunzel sitting at the top of the box with royal guards on both sides. The princess was sitting straight-backed as she had been instructed during formal gatherings and even from a distance Cassandra could feel how uncomfortable she was. Her father sat next to the queen, grim and apprehensive.

The second horn sounded a moment later, calling the contestants to the arena. She stood up, grabbing her spear and bow, joining her fellow Coronans on the field. Most were young men from the guard sporting their armor, a few from the rangers and there was even a young woman in a dark-blue navy uniform, carrying a crossbow.

Cassandra herself had opted for her favorite combat fatigues, consisting of Ingvarri military-assigned breeches and a loose tunic with shortened sleeves in deep, velvety green. Her light armor of tempered, newly oiled leather sat comfortably over her torso, clasps checked and rechecked yesterday under Xavier’s care; new gloves covered her forearms and her blades were neatly secured in place. Finally, she brushed her hair back and gave the tight ponytail a final, secure tug while stepping onto the sandy, red earth of the arena. 

She was ready and felt the part. The excitement was palpable in the air as her body thrummed with anticipation. Her weapons seemed almost weightless.

Three pairs of eyes locked onto her and she gave the box a faint wave, feeling her father and Arianna’s gaze as keenly as Rapunzel’s. She swallowed, and stepped into the shooting range with the competing archers.

When asked about it later, Cassandra would say that she barely remembered the first half of the morning. For most of the archery events, she was busy watching for potential assassins that could turn their bow on the royals. The usage of crossbows made her hair stand at an end. She was so constantly on edge, ready to leap within a moment’s notice to tackle a potential assailant that she missed two of her arrows during the long-distance. That smarted, and cost her valuable points. 

She did better at mid-distance, which was her prefered form. Now finally warmed up and more centered, she focused on her breathing and draw. She made sure to relax her wrists and fix her target properly with her gaze. Emptying her mind, she tried to imagine her father's large hands on her shoulders, steadying her young, untrained arms as she drew and released, again, and again, and again, letting her motions blur into a flow.

When she let her final arrow fly, she knew her gains were significant, which was good, but would still probably drop her out of the top three considering the skill at the competition. The Bayan longbow-man sealed a victory when his last arrow thudded into the center like an eagle to prey, earning himself a perfect ten. Cassandra eyed his form with a hefty weight of admiration.

The final scores were announced soon after, and she was surprised when her name came up as the fifth. Not bad, all things considering. She took a quick look at the other boards and took note that Rúna had won the axe throwing contest. Hardly surprising, considering she had seen the other nail a pirate from more than two ship-lenghts away on a rocking boat. 

She still allowed herself to some measurement of disappointment as the first laurels were handed out for the day and the events moved on. Small cheers from the audience told her the actual combat trials had started. She watched the other warriors line up in smaller groups. 

Grappling and spears were next. With the projectile weapons and their potential danger behind them, Cassandra found herself able to enjoy the contest more. Or, enjoy in the weird, apprehensive way which could only be natural if you were used to being amongst highly trained killers. She stored her bow quickly and grabbed her spear. A particularly mean-looking woman with a slightly crooked back hissed at her by the storage and seemed to size people up as they walked by. Cassandra shot a smug, disinterested look back and hurried to her area.

The combat events themselves were fairly straight forward affairs by all accounts. Single-strike eliminations. Contestants were divided into sub-groups to fight until the winners progressed to the quarter- and semifinals.

Her first opponent turned out to be another Coronan from the guard. He was a stout, powerful fellow and a squashed kinda face and small, watery eyes. They greeted each other formally when entering the ring; he with a knuckle-fisted tap to his chest, she, a low nod. 

The fight itself went faster than she expected. The man had obviously not adjusted his weapon training to spears rather than the heavier Coronan halberd which put him in an odd, back-tilted dip in posture which she took advantage of with a succession of high aimed thrusts. He couldn’t compensate properly which put him quickly on the defensive to parry the gradually more and more powerful attacks; this went on until she with one final sweep forced him out of the ring. He bowed and she felt her nerves loosen while they filed her victory.

The next few fighters were a motley group from all walks of life. Cassandra had spent most of her life fighting military trained soldiers which meant that she fought a lot of people with individual variations but using the same style. Fighting against pirates and raiders however, had taught her to respect independents as much as the most distinguished castle trained knight. 

Combat was always life and death, and the shiniest armour couldn’t protect you from stupidity.

One woman, with tan hair and dressed like a cattle drover with some pieces of armor slapped on, twirled her spear like a staff, switching her dominant side from left to right as easily as a child on a swing. Her scarred, Koto features were calm as she seemingly focused on deflecting and redirection of Cassandra’s attacks with precise, potentially fatal strikes blended in when you least expected it. 

This might have worked, if her style had been slightly more offensive. Cassandra kept attacking, adjusting her speed to disjar the other’s rhythm as she learned to predict the other’s flowing, watery technique; she fought with diligence and caution, until one of her strikes slipped by and connected.

The woman didn’t seem disappointed by her loss, merely retracting her staff and bowing.

“Your name is Cassandra, ah?” She asked and received a non-descriptive affirmative in response. “Odd style in your jabbing ‘here, like Ingvakish but not a spear-brute, like Corona but without the stilt. You should come to the south someday, learn to spear from a bladewalker.”

She didn’t respond but eyed the woman warmly in thanks, the other hmpf-ed an end to their exchange and stalked off to her group, speaking in the curt, sibilant language of the south. Cassandra took a deep sip from a drink offered by a page. The water seemed to taste sweeter. 

Finally, after another few bouts, with sweat matting her face in sheets, soaking through her shirt and gloves and with her limbs feeling the incipient burn of exertion, she landed a decisive blow on a gnarly looking fellow from Pittsburg, securing her a place among the semi-finalists. She looked up to see Rapunzel standing up from her seat in cheer and she felt a warm flower of something warm bloom in her chest. To her surprise, her father was half out of his seat as well but seemed to gather his composure in time. 

They were allowed half an hour to rest, drink and check their gear before the judges would call their rings. Cassandra spent it wisely beneath the shade of a tree, rehydrating as well as she needed on a honeyed beverage. Her energy was still up, but she hoped dearly there would be meat in today’s dinner. Rúna, who had emerged victorious from another group, joined her briefly. The whistle sounded, and she stood.

The first quarter-final hit her with the impact of a jagged, pitiless death. 

The middle-aged, Nesderian pikewoman fought with the dauntless certainty from a lifetime of combat. With hair and skin coloured like deep, wet earth, she felt, looked and entered the ring like a mountain goddess given corporal form and held her spear with the ease of a child gripping her favourite stick. She gave Cassandra a long, measured stare and upon the call of the judge, exploded towards her in a whirlwind with a pointy, sharp end.

She fought fast, hard and  _ murderous _ . And Cassandra _ loved  _ it.

Having been forced on the defensive from the start, she focused on deflection and footwork; her warmaster’s words was a thick beat in her frontal lobe:  _ parry only if you cannot dodge, and dodge like the wind chase the rain, push them to where you want them to be. And never block, you goddamned idiot.  _

_ Shadows never block. _

Shadows eluded, escaped,  _ evaded _ .

And so she did. She met the whirlwind with the shape and forms of water, soft and hard, gentle and harsch, giving way when there was none to give. The paths of the other’s weapon became clearer as the fight went on, and it was with crystalline finesse she finally spun out of the way in a heartbeat of overextension, grabbed onto a wrist and forced her weight upon an elbow in a precise thrust. The woman swore loudly as her spear fell from her nerveless fingers, Cassandra’s other hand pressed a speartip against her ribs. 

They broke apart, bowing. Her body and lungs _ burned _ from fatigue and exhilaration. 

So it became somewhat anticlimactic when a short, elderly Galcrest woman one was tempted to call  _ auntie _ , who wore a colourful, festive  _ robe, _ and had soft laughing wrinkles fanning the sides of her eyes, tossed both her and Rúna out of their respective matches. She did this with the practiced ease of an enraged mother, leaving both young women stunned and in Cassandra's case, severely humbled. 

Rúna spit on the ground as they walked away, both of them laurelless and sore. 

“I’ll get the axe one.” She muttered angrily, wiping dirt from her face. “And then the sword.”

“I’ll take the sword price.” Cassandra corrected without a smidge of doubt, her mood matching the other. None of them took to losing well. She looked forward to a break as the day drew close to noon.

“Hah, I’ll be waiting then.” The princess let out another spittle and motioned for her to join the rest of the Ingvarri. She sat with a few brothers and sisters and watched the axe event, and found herself cheering when Rúna bashed the other finalist out of the ring, earning herself a second laurel. 

***

Before the call of the afternoon games, Cassandra sat by herself in the shadow of a few tents. It was hard to find a quiet spot for lunch, especially with the Ingvarri celebrating Rúna’s second win. The blonde had taken quite a beating, but seemed determined to talk and eat her pains away. The blonde sat with a few sisters and seemed occupied by a riveting retelling of her match. The Coronans sat further away, looking at the rowdy northerners with some annoyance.

In the middle of this, Cassandra found the most quiet spot possible and laid down, feeling her lunch churn in her stomach. She had checked all her gear at least three times and was trying to meditate to focus but was briskly interrupted by someone complaining loudly about the layout of the area. She felt the presence before she heard them, and was promptly rewarded by someone stepping onto her armored torso. The individual stumbled in the process.

A cloaked figure crashed over her with a yelp. She sat up, bewildered and was met with Rapunzel’s slightly panicked face. The princess let out a sigh of relief at the sight of her.

“Cass! I’m so glad I found you! This place is so confusing, I think I accidently walked into some religious war-ritual in the Pittsburg tent, and the Bayans thought I was a page and handed me a bunch of dishes.” She spoke in quick, hushed whispers as if her lying halfway sprawled over the other wasn’t conspicuous by itself. “Anyway here you are!”

Cassandra looked around. Not a single royal guard was in sight. “Raps, what are you  _ doing? _ ” She exclaimed, aghast.

“I-- I wanted to see how you’re holding up, and say good luck.” She smiled sheepishly, as if she was bracing for a scolding. “So, good luck! I just wanted to see you before the second half since we didn’t get a chance this morning.”

“You broke safety protocols to--” She started but trailed off when she saw the kicked puppy look on the other’s face. She knew that look. And she knew the teary eyed moping that would follow when Rapunzel was scolded for doing something that felt natural by her heart. “Never mind. Did you bring an escort with you? An  _ armed _ one?” She asked with some despair.

“Sure, Eugene is right over there. Lance and Varian are around too.” She pointed, and true to her words a familiar fuzzled face with a goatee poked out from behind a tent and waved. Fitzherbert was certainly not her first choice but he was better than nothing. The man was armed with a decent saber at one hip, and on the other he was carrying what looked like a… sizable skillet made of black cast iron? 

Cassandra eyed him questionably but chose to not comment, which she later would realize had been her first warning.

She didn’t get a chance to ask as Rapunzel enveloped her in a tight hug, using her whole body and settling for nothing less. Cassandra felt all protest leave her body as their cheeks brushed and she leaned into the warm nook of the princess’s neck, smelling plum and honey. She hugged her back for the simple pleasure of holding her.

“Cass, I promise you that no matter what happens today, I’m going to be fine.” Rapunzel reassured. “You just focus on your games.”

In hindsight, that had been her second warning.

She didn’t get the time to give it further consideration as the judges called for the second half to start. The jarring sound of rasping metal, and gruff exchanges between warriors filled the air as she pulled the both of them up. Rapunzel’s arms lingered until Cassandra let her hands go. She walked onto the field, and turned around to the younger girl’s hooded figure waving at her discreetly. They exchanged smiles, Cassandra’s face softening when she noticed the brunette bouncing on her feet.

The sword matches started off no less gruelling as she fought her way through the assigned group. She fought several more of the Coronan guard, and the crossbow wielding navy woman who turned out to be a vicious beast with a mean-looking cutlass. Fencers from Pittsburg with their white uniforms and elegant, duelist focused style put up a good fight but fought too cleanly, too nobly to win a competition like this. Her last opponent in her group was an independent from Vardaros who fought with a sword that looked more like a hook and made her skin crawl. She eked out a win, but had to double check all her body parts after, just to be sure.

Again, the quarter- and semifinals was akin to being trampled by a rampaging horse. 

It didn’t take long for her body to start hurting. She bit her lower lip, willing the weeping burn of muscles and joints to mold into one, letting the pain pass as a whole rather than a million lesser distractions. Her palms were sweaty but her hands felt steady,  _ solid _ . Xavier’s gloves had been a godsend and she sent the old man fond thoughts as her knuckles clicked around her grip and pommel when blades crashed into her rain-guard in force. 

Despite all this, she felt good and  _ whole _ . Her lungs were keeping up, delivering sweet oxygen in great, measured gulps; her legs felt light and her arms even lighter. She felt like a swordling on her first skirmish, hyper focused and battle-drunk at once.

That said, her opponents still took a metaphorical chunk out of her. 

A great lot of her quarterfinal was spent on the ground rolling away from a Koto longswordsman with braided hair, dyed with streaks of red. He had a painted face which reminded her of a bandit screamer and seemed frozen in a perpetual state of rage. His sword was the length of her whole leg.

He had kicked her to the ground in a burst of an inhumanly fast attack and followed up by stabbing at her rolling, desperately dodging body. And as Cassandra quickly found out, rolling around like a plump seal on ice sincerely  _ sucked _ ; firstly, you got dust in your eyes, and secondly, you could only keep your eyes on your opponent half of the time. But the angry red-faced man continued his hacking, his sword landing  _ thud-thud _ at where her body had been moments ago, so Cassandra rolled, and rolled. 

Then the swordsman made the mistake of aiming for her head rather than her torso which made him reach _ just  _ a little lower-

-and she snapped her hips and legs up like an L-shaped trap, clamping her thighs and calves around his midsection in a powerful, twisting motion that ripped him off-balance with a surprised yelp. She heaved herself up using his momentum and drew her second blade in one smooth motion, giving him no chance of reprieve as she cleanly pressed her single-edged blade across his abdomen like a dagger with a profound  _ clink. _ He swore loudly. She crashed to the ground with a long, arduous sigh.

The judge called her victory as he pulled her dust-beaten form up.

“You good.” He grunted in appreciation. “Should have kept you down.”

“Could’ve tried. Never lied down for a man before.” She smirked, wiping a respectable patina of dirt from her face. He guffawed a laugh in response.

Rúna chuckled at her sorry appearance and tossed her a skin of water, motioning to one of the sisters to grab a towel. The water felt mercifully cool on her skin as she let a few sips in between cracked lips. They were barely in time for the next match.

They fought side by side during the semifinals. Rúna, against some insane independent with the back of an ox who towered over even the Ingvarri. The Equisian fought with a mammoth sized sword that could fell a horse in a single swing. 

Cassandra’s own opponent was a familiar face from the royal guard. He was a skilled but distinctly arrogant man who was her father’s self-appointed best discipline and future successor. Sporting sandy-blonde hair and a weak moustache imitating the captain, he walked into the ring with the air of someone who not only polished but relished in his own ballooned ego. He was nobleborn, pompously entitled and was known to treat servants horribly. 

He was quite frankly Cassandra’s least favourite person on the guard, and she could feel her father’s eyes burn holes in her back as she went for him as if his trouncing was her destiny. 

The man realized a few moments too late that the dark-haired, green-limbed mass of a woman hurling herself at him with double blades drawn was the captain’s daughter. He then made a second mistake of asking her to confirm this, inquiring if she was the  _ base-born girl the captain used to raise _ and Cassandra suddenly wished for a sharpened blade to cause some non-permanent damage. 

He was good, in the carefully nurtured way in which a family had paid for the finest equipment and the best instructors to ensure a military champion in their son. He looked beautiful, with his golden plated armor and a sword of cold-forged silver; a gorgeous fairy-sprung prince with a heroic jaw. 

He was, however, pathologically underprepared to face the true successor to his captain’s skills. His money and affluence did not prepare him for the girl his teacher had roused to drill and train and break at dawnrise, until said girl irrefutably stood a warrior by her father’s side.

Cassandra proved this by catching his shiny silversword between her significantly less shiny swords and spun his guard in a rotatory motion that made him lose control of his grip. She did not wait but simply kicked him soundly in the abdomen and out of the ring with a resounding, thundering crash. The judge called her victory. She bowed but did not look back.

Some time later, while she was resting before the final, Rúna dropped a flagon of the honeyed drink by her side. She took a sip, revelling in the chilled, milky taste.

“It’s me.” She stated, the double meaning clear. Her dark-haired counterpart merely nodded whereas the princess sat down close and threw an arm around her shoulders. “Why, no kiss for a job well done?”

“You’ll kiss my sword.” Cassandra grinned with no malice. They had done this before, hundreds of times, during the camp trials that could drag into the night.

“I could do so much more.” Rúna sighed melodramatically, but sobered up when she saw the judges move to start. For a few moments, her face fell into something more somber. “You, and me, Cassandra. We’re crew, be there land or sea.” 

She looked at the other for a long minute before replying. “We’re crew. I never said otherwise.”

“Good. And a crew should care for each other, like family. Your princess reminded me of that.” 

Cassandra blinked. “You mean Rapunzel?” Rapunzel, who could not stand within ten meters of Rúna without looking like she wanted to punch something?

The Ingvarri nodded and suddenly looked more mature, which was  _ weird. _

They entered the final ring together side by side, both as rested and rehydrated as they could be. The judge looked both of them over, signaling them to make their final checks to their gear. The arena fell silent as they took their positions and Cassandra was suddenly struck by how this might be the last time she and Rúna fought under such circumstances.

“Blood of my blood, Cassandra.” The princess said.

“The tides guide us both, Runi.” She answered fondly. 

The judge sounded the signal.

***

For years later, both Coronan and Ingvarri fencing masters would describe the battle that transpired on that day. They told it as an example for the young men and women to study, hoping they would take its merge of skill and tactics to heart. 

And as the story was spun and retold by the audience alike, embellishments were added and its scale took turns. Many years later, the then Queen Rapunzel would tease her beloved admiral of how the latter felled a dozen Ingvarri berserkers and the dastardly, roguish foreign princess to refute a marriage proposal done wrong. The Ingvarri on the other hand, told of a brave voyager who fought and lost her dearest crewmate, an honourable  _ pathfinder _ , to the chains of duty. 

“None of this happened.” Cassandra would then groan into her hands when they left the theatre, the three of them laughing. And Rapunzel would lovingly push a few locks of greying dark hair behind her darling’s ear.

***

The sound of a blade shattering was a terrible, violent sound. 

Metal didn’t truly break. It bent or rusted by poor usage or time; a blade lost its edge if the swordsman was bad at parrying or blocked like a drunk. Swords didn’t  _ shatter. _

Or so Cassandra had believed, until a perfectly timed overhead parry that by all means should have turned the flow into her advantage. 

Rúna had leaned heavily into her attack, the timing was perfect. The cut was hard, angled, and struck at a point several centimeters above her guard before physically reverberating against the tournament approved, dull metal like a chain. The pressure oscillated viciously and she felt pricks of pain down her wrists and fingers under the strain. 

For one moment, the metal bowed like a great, wind-torn mast in a storm, the next moment she was falling backwards with shards of shrapnel raining across her face and a useless stub of metal in her hand. 

Rúna gave her no repose, her face was locked into a severe snarl as she dove on her like a predator to prey. Cassandra swore and rolled back, she let go of her sword and used both hands for support to somersault backwards, throwing herself widely out of the other’s range. The princess kicked her broken blade to the side and gave chase, blade raised to stab.

For a few panicked moments, all she could do was dodge as Rúna struck at her fast and cold like winter’s first ice. The princess’s attacks came in a chain of furious staccatos, so swiftly that drawing her second blade became an unaffordable expense. For the longest moment, time seemed to freeze as they danced around each other with the princess’s strikes conducting their waltz.

The arena held its breath. Each cut drew a little closer.

From her seat in the podium, princess Rapunzel stood, a hand at her chest. To the unsuspecting spectator it might have looked like simple worry for a favoured champion. Eugene Fitzherbert however, knew this signal and dodged out of sight.

On the field, Rúna had caught up with Cassandra like the hunter she was born to be. They were so close now, and the Coronan thought she could feel the heat of the other’s breath as she slipped in and out of their zones, dancing at her blade’s edge. 

She played to her strengths, which was all she had at this point; focused on being smaller, quicker,  _ elusive,  _ putting her whole body into becoming the spectre her warmaster had trained her to be, like the wind pushing rain. A shadow beneath the moon.

And on the contrary to appearance, Cassandra had every intention of walking away the winner. And to do that, she needed to let Rúna close.

One strike takes all, so she needed to make it count.

So when Rúna launched into heavy thrust she met air, Cassandra having predicted her path and tried to sidestep to her backside like she had done during their practice. The princess let out a triumphant yell. 

This time, she was ready and spun, kicking savagely behind her in a sweep to maim but was met with another lot of empty space. Cassandra had continued to move, swiftly, and there was only a flash of her smug face as the shorter woman suddenly grabbed the princess in a two-handed throw using her raised leg as leverage. For the umpteenth time for the day, Cassandra crashed to the ground in a swearing, jousting tangle of limbs but this time with herself on top.

_ Shadows evaded- _

-and then she struck.

She reached behind her back while they fell, her draw a seething, silvery whisper. 

Her cut glided across Rúna's exposed side, just beneath her axilla, in one clean, reverse-gripped swoop. The blonde’s blade was a mere two inches from her own shoulder when she connected. 

Their eyes met, both thoroughly rumbled and panting for air, and every part of her body burned from exhaustion. Rúna stared at her as if possessed, her grip was iron upon the other’s forearm. For one mad moment Cassandra thought the other might try to pull her down and kiss her.

The judge called her victory.

She filled her lungs with sweet air, feeling impossibly light and did not need to look up to know that her father was out of his chair.

The arena exploded in cheers.

*** 

Dead Man’s Circle was almost an afterthought after the events of the day.

The contestants gathered to eat and drink, and would then walk out together into the pit in merry camaraderie to beat each other up in one final show of common unity. Cassandra loved the event but was unsure of the logic at its heart. Her victory laurel was tied securely to her bicep and she felt drunk. A few of the guards dunked her in the back as they passed by, congratulating her achievement.

She walked into the arena for one last time, tired to her bones. The other warriors around her had spread out and were studying the obstacles that had been added to the field. Rúna and she had spent the break with the other Ingvarri, but the taller girl had stalked off somewhere. 

To her surprise, she saw Eugene and Lance at some distance in front with their backs to her. They stood with a shorter person in between wearing a pulled-down cap that could only be Varian. They must have signed up as independents for the last event, which was unexpected and  _ weird _ … _ And _ a little irresponsible considering the boy’s age. Varian looked anxious from the back, dressed in slightly oversized clothes that might have belonged to Eugene, refitted for his small size. 

The doofuses hadn’t even outfitted the boy with a proper weapon. He held an iron skillet in his hands and stood like he was ready to take on the world with nothing but fifty kilos of spirit and on his  _ bare feet-- _

Cassandra froze. The judge sounded the signal. ‘Varian’ turned around to sweep his eyes over the crowd and visibly cringed when their eyes met.

They were green like the highs of summer. 

And it sure as hell wasn’t Varian’s head of unkempt black hair that peeked out from beneath the cap.

Rapunzel stared at Cassandra as the world around them erupted into a chaotic, disorganized brawl. Her eyes were wide and mouth open in a wide ‘o’. Her face was the very definition of having been caught red-handedly  _ busted _ . Then she pulled at her two idiot compatriots’ arms and all three of them ran right into the battlefield, away from her.

  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought the show had Cassandra lose way to many fights. I fixed it. In this universe, she got 10 years of training with dad + 6 years of Ingvakish. No need to secretly train or hide your badassery here.


	6. Mothers And Daughters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cassandra gets a migraine, then a backache, and then finally she gets some hugs. All in relation to Rapunzel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta: Cyn, all hoooyay

_Pandemonium._

That was the word that swum at the forefront of Cassandra’s mind when a pair of men crashed into her path, swinging wildly at each other like drunks. A third woman, an independent with a scarred eye and dressed in leathers was housing a javelin, taking aim, unaware of a young man sneaking up behind her with a pair of daggers. 

Cassandra stepped back and out of the way, staying in the fringe with as few people behind her as possible while she tried to stay out of sight and mind, keeping to the shadows of the obstacles lying around. This was easier said than done as the ox-sized woman from Rúna’s semifinal stomped out from nowhere, laughing, and cutting people and objects down left and right. 

She slowed her breathing and stayed in the woman’s blindspot, just behind a few barrels with her hand loosely on the grip of her one remaining sword anxiously. 

She was undeniably _tired_ from the day, exhaustion had since long settled into the hollow of her bones and turned muscles to tense lumps of ache, her legs felt leaden and her left shoulder probably needed a look at later. Fear mixed with a hefty dose of anger rose in her chest like bile as she studied her surroundings carefully and started to make her way across the mayhem, searching desperately after a small figure in a ridiculous cap. 

Cassandra still considered herself to be in the fight, more or less; she still had a fair shot at winning an event she had wanted to be part of all her life. She might however commit outright murder when she got her hands on a certain princess and her two idiot lackeys if no one was there to stop her. That is, after she had interrogated them under threat of violence about what this harebrained stunt was trying to accomplish. 

Her mind had raced through a myriad of different explanations to why Rapunzel would be in the ring and none of them made sense. The princess had not been under any kind of distress. Eugene and Lance, despite questionable occupations, were Rapunzel’s friends and would never do anything to hurt her. There had been no signs of coercion or abduction. The royal guards had yet to show alarm, meaning she had given a plausible excuse. Rapunzel had come in disguise and _armed._

All evidence pointed to the fact that Rapunzel had somehow snuck away from every single security detail on Cassandra’s one day off to enter the kingdom’s biggest brawl on her own volition.

_But why?_

_Gods why, you absolute fool?_

She tried to not let panic take hold but it was getting harder as the fights around her intensified. Warriors, worn out and battle-high after a day of combat, drew close to their limit as they dipped into their reserves for one final bout. A Bayan swordsman grabbed a club from the ground and hit a Nesderian woman straight across the head, she went out like a light. Cassandra snuck up from behind and kicked him behind his knee, twisting his arm around and disarming him. Red dust hung over the arena like a thick veil, kicked up by hundreds of stampeding feet. The fact that Rapunzel was here in the middle of all this with only two career scoundrels to protect her made her heart sick with worry.

So Cassandra searched, through the mist of violence, avoiding confrontations the best she could, trying her damndest to not let anger cloud her mind.

Finally, she caught a glimpse of Eugene with his saber drawn. He was standing with a group of Ingvarri, forming an odd sort of perimeter at the far end of the pit. They had their weapons out without engaging each other, but kept approaching contestants away from whatever was going on behind them. She narrowed her eyes, grabbing onto a few ropes and climbed a temporary metal structure to gain some altitude.

What she saw made her stomach twist and see red.

In the middle of the small protected circle, Rapunzel and Rúna stood facing each other, locked in what was supposed to be combat.

Rapunzel, who had undergone less than a year of staff training and had trouble finishing fifty sit-ups, was charging at Rúna, who had started sword _and_ axe drills at the age of five, with all the ferociousness of a puppy who had discovered its teeth. 

She was charging at _Rúna_ , who was a Honour warrior and knew how to use every single weapon in an average armory, with what even from distance definitely was a _cooking skillet_. The scene was almost comical if it didn’t make Cassandra want to shank someone for stress release. The blonde stood a full head taller than the younger princess with a frame like a godsent valkyrie, her stance and poise relaxed and clearly toying with her foe. 

None of this still accounted for the fact that Rapunzel was a goddamned _crown_ princess, whose bodily harm could lead to real repercussions for all involved and bring political outfalls too severe for Cassandra to even consider. Both princesses seemed to have foregone to consider this in their idiotic duel of, what she could only assume to be, _royal_ _stupidity_.

Because what on earth could Rúna and _Rapunzel_ have to fight about?

Rapunzel answered this by hollering a shrill battle-cry, swinging her skillet in a series of surprisingly well-timed strikes, aiming at the other’s midsection while yelling to be heard. Cassandra let out a string of curses and started to run towards them while gesturing wildly at Stan who was standing guard in the podium, hoping to draw his attention.

“...uld you take this seriously, you blonde strop. I told you to fight back!”

“Oh haw, _Sunshine_ , keep trying and you’ll see what gives. Is that what she calls you by the way, Sunshine? Does she whisper that sweetly when she undresses you for the night?” Rúna drawled in dulcet tones, deflecting her blows easily with her blade.

Rapunzel went red all the way to her collarbones and lunged while Rúna stepped back, almost lazily, moving about in a circle to goad the other on.

“Oh _wait_ ,” She exclaimed conspiratorially. “She _doesn’t_ , right? She stands at the door, or at your back while some other frilly maid runs their hands down your frocks and loosens your dress and you’ve spent all this time wishing it was her. How poetic, your highness.”

Rapunzel made another swing in a circular motion, her face a spitting image of ireful anger. Rúna sidestepped with ease.

“Must be hard, believe me I know. I watched my oldest sister skit around, trying to be all proper. But you! You had her all to yourself, didn’t you? Snug and cosy, attending to your every whim, until someone showed up and reminded you of what she was.” Rúna smirked and seemed pleased with herself. “Tell me, crown princess, am I close?”

“Why don’t you tell me since you’re the one with the tales? Tell me, your _highness_ , how is your own endeavour going? How many times should she need to decline your offer?” Rapunzel retorted in a voice pressed between gritted teeth. She continued to press forward, and Rúna dodged out of her way. “Or did you finally heed my suggestion to let her make a choice in peace?” 

“Aye, maybe so. But after today, maybe I will have impressed her enough to make her reconsider-” Rúna sidestepped again and twirled her weapon smugly, she pushed a lock of her blonde hair back and winked at the shorter girl. Rapunzel did not take her bait.

“I recall her handing you a loss personally during the last fight? Quite the show, if I’m to say.”

“Still got two laurels to show for the day. How was the view from your spectator box, huddled among the big, strong men?” Rapunzel made a face and lifted her skillet in a high stance. They circled each other slowly.

“Good enough to see someone break their axe.”

“Got it replaced. This one’s bigger. _She’_ ll like it.”

“Oh please, you really believe her to be such a simpleton-”

“I know for a _fact_ that she likes big axes and does not lie-”

“Oh really, then tell m-"

Cassandra couldn’t stand to listen to the litany of stupidity anymore. She marched up to Eugene with her sword drawn. Something in her face must have reflected her mood because the man looked impossibly torn between nervous amusement and a healthy fear for his life. He was joined by two Ingvarri from the Alsvinder who both took one look at her face and reflected his sentiment.

“Move, so I can stop this idiocy.” She hissed, her voice trembling with anger.

“Afraid I can’t, Blondie’s orders to keep you away.” He replied, cringing before filling in. “Please don’t kill us.”

In his defense, he actually put up a good fight. With the help of the two Ingvarri, they delayed her for enough time for Rúna to catch sight of her and laugh. This, for some reason, infuriated her even more as she disarmed both sailors as harmlessly as she could, which was not hard since they weren’t actually trying to fight her. Eugene however, put up a struggle with his quick paced, back-alley taught style of rogue. He was fast for his size and knew how to fight dirty.

“Vardaros?” She inquired appreciatively while they locked blades for a brief moment.

“Touché.” He grunted, slipping into his real accent. He tried to step back to push for a quick riposte but was met with a succession of quick, darting thrusts as Cassandra lunged, dodged and eliminated any advantage he had in height. A sidestep too slow became his undoing as she knocked his blade aside, grabbed his arm and tossed him out of the ring in a roundabout grappling move. He landed with a yelp and a thud, and made it far more dramatic than it needed to be.

The rest of the Ingvarri didn’t seem to be in a mood to challenge her further. Most just shrugged and made a gesture towards their captain and the flailing princess, focusing instead on the rest of the thinning battlefield.

She strode into the impromptu duel ring with the air of a vengeful god, or so she liked to believe in her dusty clothes and frizzled hair. Her voice was incessant and cut like glass when she declared her presence.

“Are. You. _Insane!?”_ She roared at the two royal morons. Rapunzel, who had her back turned, almost stumbled in fright.

The princess whipped around on her soles with wide, nervous eyes, hard of breath and with her cap slightly askew; her expression was a lopsided, apologetic grin that convinced absolutely no one. She flicked her gaze between Cassandra and Eugene. Rúna just looked like her midwinter present had arrived.

“Eep, hi Cass!”

“Cas _sandra_ , dear, rage was always your colour! Brings out your eyes.”

Rapunzel shot Rúna a dirty look. Cassandra wanted to punch them both, a little, but hard enough to hurt for a few days. 

“I’m not discussing this.” She said flatly. “This stops now. _You-_ ” She declared, pointing at Rúna. “Will go back to the event and do whatever you want to do. I’m taking Rapunzel back to the spectator box.” She grabbed the princess’s wrist and tugged her to the side, trying to heed the combat that was taking place around them.

To her surprise, Rapunzel pulled away. She wrung her hand free with a twisting motion and suddenly glared stubbornly right back at Cassandra.

“No.” She said. “I want to finish my duel.”

“ _Raps-_ ”

“No Cass, you listen. I issued a formal duel to another princess, and I intend to see it through!” Rapunzel explained and put her hands on her hips, making a perfect show of having made up her mind. 

“You can’t be serious.”

“She did, in fact. Knew all the right words and everything.” Rúna quipped humorously. “I pointed out that duels are illegal for royal heirs of any nationality, so we came up with a compromise to fight during this event. There are no laws against a crown princess entering Dead Man’s Circle according to law. We double checked.”

“Wha-” Cassandra bristled seethingly. “But for _what?_ ”

This made them stop.

Both princesses had the audacity to look embarrassed at her question, lowering their arms momentarily. Rapunzel’s face turned sheetwhite and looked like she was downright about to faint. Rúna, for once, mumbled at the ground and moved her axe from one hand to the other as easily as if she was handling a flower.

“Courtship privileges, I guess.” The blonde shrugged, as if they were discussing dessert.

Cassandra stared at them incredulously. 

_“Wha-_ are you both mad-? For _whom?”_ She blurted without thinking, staring from one to the other. Her mind hurt.

Now it was the princesses' turn to stare at her as if she was an addlebrained idiot. Both paused to draw deep chokes of breaths, as if trying to hold in disbelief. Rúna buried her face in her hand and rubbed the tense spot between her eyes before looking to the sky in dramatic flourish; she then clapped Rapunzel on the shoulder and the both of them exchanged weary looks. Rapunzel’s normally open and carefree face lost its previous pallor and now looked downright disappointed. 

She considered Cassandra’s fuming form, like one might consider a struggling toddler, before holstering her weaponized cookware. Then, she turned to the much taller princess and gave her a hefty, apologetic nod.

“It seems like I have not made my intentions clear. We should postpone this.” Rapunzel declared, sounding a bit miffed.

Rúna scoffed. “Only you would see that as necessary. I am well aware of the fact that she-”

“You’re not _postponing_ anything! You cannot be seen _fighting_. Can both of you take this serious-” Cassandra argued, trying her best to drown out the dying battle.

“What is going on here?”

The stern, unmoving voice cut through the dust and tension and punched Cassandra right in the gut, it snapped all three of them around. A clatter of deep, metallic footsteps filled the following silence as two familiar figures entered the arena from behind an uncovered gate, accompanied by a handful of royal guards and the captain. Rapunzel’s shoulder hunched as she slowly turned towards the source of the voice.

King Frederic, followed by Queen Arianna.

The King did not step into the ring, but looked between them with a deeply troubled expression, and when his eyes landed on Rapunzel the anger was immediate. The queen seemed less startled than her husband, but to Cassandra, her displeasure was evident and rolled over her in waves.

_Oh we are,_ Cassandra thought panickedly, _in so much trouble._

“What is the meaning of this?” The King demanded. “I was told that Rapunzel was feeling sick and needed to lie down.” 

“...hi dad.” 

A vein in his greying, royal temple bulged dangerously as he considered his only child, her ill-fitting clothes, her odd choice of arms and the fact that there were still men and women fighting in the arena. The captain had advised against him entering, but a shout had interrupted his walk towards the impending prize ceremony and the King would know his daughter’s voice anywhere.

“Rapunzel, get out of there _immediately_.” He said with impervious command. 

The princess took a few steps but stopped. She met her father’s withering glare and seemed to shrink into herself beneath it’s might. The man’s hands were balled into stiff, white-knuckled fists and even Cassandra could see that there was no way Rapunzel could talk herself out of trouble this time.

“You probably won’t let me finish the event, huh?” She asked hopefully.

“You are a crown princess, my _only_ daughter. Have you got any idea of how much is riding on your safety? Can you fathom what would happen if y-” He bellowed on like a great bear, drawing the attention of several contestants within the ring. Cassandra could see a few groups of independents look their way and suddenly, something cold ran down her spine.

Her father’s and Arianna’s cautions rang stark in her mind.

She turned towards the fighters and swept her eyes carefully over the field. There were still a few groups left standing, eking out the last of the competition as the event drew to a close. Judges stalked the field warily with medics, helping the few unfortunate who had bitten off more than they could chew. Most defeated however, were seated outside the ring as spectators and more and more were beginning to notice their small gathering. A few had stood up and were pointing at the King.

The fact that the whole royal family was out in the open was decisively not a good thing.

Cassandra looked over her shoulder, catching her father’s eyes. She lowered her hand and made a few signals as he had taught her, the man’s face tensed and he gave her a barely noticeable nod. The captain hurried over to the Queen and she saw them exchange whispers. She then turned to Rúna and signed to her and the sailors to expect trouble. Behind her, King Frederic’s lesson to his daughter droned on, stentorian and flat.

A few groups of movement in the center of the arena alerted her.

Then everything started to go wrong at once.

***

At first it was hard to tell that the fighting had changed.

Then, an ill-dressed fellow in badly maintained plate armor and oily complexion tossed his tournament sword, strode up to one of the many barrels lying around in the field as obstacles and kicked it open, revealing a pile of sharpened blades and axes. He drew a broadsword and shoved it straight into a Nesderian woman’s shoulder. She screamed and dropped to her knees as the red-dripping blade glared mockingly in the sun. 

Several others of the independents joined him, gathering other hidden weapons about the field. They cut and stabbed a few more and people started to run, realizing the severity of the situation. A few of the warriors tried to fight back and those on the sidelines either ran off in alarm or tried to join in the process. Screams in different languages filled the air. The judges tried to alert the guards, the guards were stalled by running bystanders. It was chaos.

The handful of guards with the royal couple formed a loose perimeter surrounding their group together with the Ingvarri. A few of the Coronan contestants joined in, as did Eugene and Lance, who had manifested from the podium. Cassandra bit her lip anxiously as she looked upon their formation; she could drive cattle through the gaps.

She skimmed the crowd that was moving towards them, counting two dozen men and women with sharpened weapons, maybe more. They looked well-equipped but came with mixed styles of armor with no crests or identifying symbols, some looked like road-side ruffians, others looked clean and had the air of an organized militia.

There really was no time to study them further.

The first few crashed into the frontline guards as the battle began. There were no battlecries or words of declaration against the kingdom, or claims of tyranny. With the exception of the screams of the wounded and the splintering sound of metal against metal, the battle was eerily quiet.

Which was how Cassandra caught the sound of the first projectiles.

She did not see the crossbows but knew the high-pitched, mechanical thwang that came with the release of strings. The weapon had been banned from the event, but must have been among the hidden stash in the field. Years of raw fighting instinct kicked in all at once.

“ _GET DOWN!_ ” She roared, and was immediately obeyed by the Ingvarri. Rúna, who reacted a heartbeat later than her, threw herself bodily on top of Rapunzel and dragged the smaller girl to the ground with a crash. Cassandra could have kissed her in gratitude.

She turned around in time to see her father and Stan catch two bolts against raised shields as they dove in front of the King. Frederic looked shocked, and seemed uncomprehending to what was happening around him as soldiers tried to pull him away. A man who was leading them towards the gate was hit in the back and went down, the bolt penetrating his armor with a powerful blow.

Another scream alerted her as a guard to the king’s left sank to the ground with an arrow protruding from his thigh. He had been shieldless and his fall revealed Arianna, who was suddenly without a wall. 

The queen looked on in horror as the soldier fell, her mouth open in a soundless cry as their eyes met. In all her years, Cassandra had never seen the woman afraid, but as the Queen made a motion towards Rapunzel, Cassandra snapped into action. 

She acted on pure instinct. Another volley of unforgiving _thwangs_ followed her mad sprint as she closed the few meters between them. Her legs pumped desperately, despite the burn of her thighs and the fatigue that made every step feel like wobbly, soft lead.

She leaped and crashed on top of the queen in the same moment as sharp pain tore into her from behind. She gasped, wet and viscerally as violent heaves racked through her torso and the air was instantly knocked from her lungs. Hot, white pricks of light danced in front of her eyes as they fell and Arianna’s body became the only solid texture she could feel. It took her a few more moments of haggard, painful attempts to draw breath to realize that she had been hit.

She moved her arm and a wet snap shuddered through her shoulder like sharp ice. The arrow must have hit her in the back. The pain cut her focus to ribbons and she could no longer feel her legs. Arianna's distressed hands were warm upon her face.

Cassandra used the last of her breath to call for help, hoping desperately that someone would hear and take the queen to safety. She tried to crawl but cold lightning shot down her spine at the smallest motion, immobilizing her attempts. 

She felt hands move her. Male voices came and she saw Arianna’s distraught face being carried away under a wall of bodies. She saw a flash of her father catching the queen around her waist, stopping her from running back to her and she understood on the pale, stricken look on his face how bad her injuries must be.

She tried to roll but _howled_ when something sharp cut into her side like a blade of hot steel. The dirt beneath her was caked in red and sticky. She felt the protruding bolt-head that had cleaved straight through her torso and only then did she realize how much of the red there was. Her breathing was now a wheezing staccato and Cassandra realized with growing clarity that she was dying.

Her vision began to dim.

She thought of her father and Arianna.

_Duty's end_. She thought, ironically.

And someone screamed.

It was a terrible scream; the kind which poets would use to describe heartbreak. A broken, unyielding, gargantuan thing, ripped from the essence of a soul being torn in two. It startled every person in range and made a few of the warriors pause in terror.

Beneath the larger body of Rúna, Rapunzel screamed and screamed and _screamed_ with eyes locked onto Cassandra’s wounded, bleeding form. Tears poured freely down her cheeks as she stared in abject horror. She screamed until all air should have been expelled from her lungs and her voice was little more than a hoarse gurgle. She shot out a hand, trying to drag her pinned down body towards her fallen friend, attempting violently to break free. 

Cassandra afforded herself a small smile, reaching for the princess and imagined it was wild, brown hair beneath her fingers. Her pained grimace softening as she regarded Rapunzel in all her terror and beauty. She wished she had told her, done _something_ \-- just to signify how special the other was, and now it would be too late.

She regretted this as her eyes closed.

The world went quiet.

Then, destiny intervened.

Scholars would for years later debate on what truly happened amidst the chaos of battle that day. Witnesses spoke of a great pulse, or how the air seemed to freeze briefly and then oscillate in a great wave from the arena. Many in the city would tell of the same thing, describing rattling windows and broken glassware by a mysterious blast of wind. The few who were present could never be sure, busy as they had been to run to safety. 

Cassandra however, _saw_ , through half-lidded eyes, the unreal vision of Rapunzel _glowing_ as she lifted a very surprised Rúna from the ground with a growl. The princess was no longer screaming yet her mouth moved in a wordless, ephemeral chant, in a voice like a thousand voices. 

Her eyes turned from warm, summery green to bright gold and finally into white-burning fields of divine sunfire. Her hair streamed wildly behind her and appeared to grow and grow in a river of light, until it fluttered towards the heavens in a magnificent halo before setting the world ablaze.

The divinity walked.

People screamed, swords fell and time skipped to a stop.

Then Rapunzel (was it truly her?) dropped to her knees beside Cassandra, scooped her up and gently held her close, as if their heartbeats could merge together in the space where their breaths met; then the princess raised her head and _sang_.

Cassandra thought the song was familiar. She remembered it in an older voice, decrepit and cold, and nothing like the golden sunlight that filled her body now. She couldn’t remember and was too tired to try.

If death was a lover then she was ready.

She let go and hoped Rapunzel would catch her.

***

The realm was a field of bright, ceaseless light.

Below, the sea of sunfire stretched, on and on until the horizon met the sky. 

Above, the velvet dark of midnight encapsulated the skies. Stars littered the endless black, like colourful, boundless gems.

There was silence and there was chaos and the light beneath her trembled. It was an unheard plea and a desperate call, a deathless cry with the pretense of a whisper. 

It yearned and yearned for its lover across time and space, unyielding and unceasing in its hopeful search.

_How sad_ , she thought, when a young woman’s voice pulled her away from this place where she did not belong. _How regretful_ , she mused, when warm arms cradled her with love.

And far away, beyond the line where heaven and light met, a blue light flickered and yearned in return.

***

When she surfaced, it was to the sounds of an argument. Several voices, male and female seemed to crowd the room in a blend of agitated, quick conversation. Daylight burned beyond her eyelids as she struggled back to consciousness only to be pulled back into a merciful fog. Warmth covered her body, and in particular her left hand was comfortably cradled in a gentle, familiar shape. 

She drew a quivering, dry gasp and called for her father, as she had done during nightmares as a child. She cried for her mother, to be held in her arms. The voices stopped and became shouts in joy and then fell to hurried, relieved whispers.

A young woman’s voice rose above the rest. It was she who pulled her back. She sounded like the sunfire, bright and hopeful.

***

Cassandra woke to the feeling of having been bludgeoned by something either heavy or lumpy or most likely both. She groaned appropriately and opened her eyes. 

The room she lay in was mercifully subdued in dim semi-darkness. She lay still for a few moments, breathing, feeling her surroundings in a cautious habit while her mind hung in suspended blank. Blinking the grogginess out of her eyes, she made a grimace, feeling the lethargic muscles on her face respond in prickly, taut twitches. The bed she lay in was comfortable, a tad too deep, fluffy and certainly not her own 

She tried to sit up, slowly, and winced as her muscles protested. Her back, front, legs and arms all throbbed in a dull, insistent pain and whatever parts that didn't ache felt impossibly heavy. 

Cassandra sighed glumly, eyes still half-closed in semi-conscious sleep. She felt like a giant bruise and decided to act the part. Her mind was slowly progressing through the sight of a tall, wooden roof, walls littered with surgical instruments and the heavy smell of antiseptics. 

So it was the castle infirmary, and more surprisingly, the surgeon’s station.

A small sound drew her attention to her right.

Beneath the light of a single candle, Rapunzel’s tousled, sleep-rumpled head lay propped up by a pillow while she slept soundly in an armchair pulled to the bed. A quick glance out the window told her it was night and the castle was quiet.

For a few seconds, she considered going back to sleep but the pang of sharp affection that swelled in her chest stopped her. She lifted her hand, tentatively, and combed fingers gently through soft, sun-kissed hair, stopping first when her palm rested against a freckled cheek. 

Her memories of the fight were foggy, wisps lost to fear and battle-haze that had thickened her mind and dulled as she bled, but she remembered a point when she would have done anything to hold Rapunzel again, even if only for a minute. Something wet trickled down her cheek as relief flooded her in thick, racking waves. 

Rapunzel was safe. 

_Unharmed_. 

And awake.

The princess stirred slowly, as if suspended between hope and disbelief as she reached up to place her hand on top of Cassandra’s, her eyes blinked rapidly to shake off the vestiges of sleep before widening into expressive lights as they looked to each other.

She had little to no warning as Rapunzel launched herself across the bed and buried her head into the side of her neck. She did so with a heartful, unrestrained sob as hands tenderly danced along the shapes of Cassandra’s face, tracing eyes and lips and letting her feelings run free. And for once, Cassandra was too tired, too hurt and just too relieved to really care.

She met Rapunzel halfway, with a weak smile and brushing the girl’s tears away amidst half-broken sentences and tearful apologies. Cassandra pulled her down and gathered her into a hug, running her hands through hair and down her back in shy, soothing circles. 

They felt so warm together, so _good_.

And never before had Cassandra reflected over just how _right_ she felt when holding Rapunzel's willowy body against her own. Now, she leaned into it, burrowing herself in the smell of skin and flowery plum, drawing in as much as she could. Her body slumped in wistful contentment.

That’s when she noticed that several locks of the princess’s hair, on the left of her scalp, had turned blonde. Her confusion must have shown. Rapunzel who pushed herself up on wobbly arms just shook her head, her eyes were puffy and red even under the gasps of trepid candlelight.

“I’m so sorry.” The princess whispered, voice breaking. “This is all my fault, I did this. You were right, Cass. What was I _thinking_ challenging someone to a duel? I put my parents in danger, and you! You had to-- to-''Her body trembled as she tried to find words but only cries came. "I should have just stayed where everyone told me to be, or stayed in my room, or never left the tower, I--” 

“Raps.” Her voice felt like fine sandpaper, hoarse but tender. “I’m here. I’m fine.” 

She didn’t know what else to say. Rapunzel didn't either but mellowed gradually at her words. She laid down, head tucked neatly into the nook below Cassandra's chin, hands thrown around her torso and fists tightly scrunched into the fabric of her shirt. They lay together for a while, neither really letting go while Cassandra pondered the past events.

“How… what happened to me?” She asked slowly. “And to _you?_ ”

A hand came up to her cheek. The princess let out an arduous sigh.

And so Rapunzel explained, or tried to at the best of her ability. She retold a story about a girl with more than twenty meters of golden hair and the lullaby that would make a mother younger; a mother who the girl had believed with all her heart had loved her until the girl dared to ask for more. It was a fantastic and sad tale. Cassandra had thought it to be an exaggerated rumour, spun out of delirium over a lost princess’s return.

“So your mo- _Gothel_ , taught you that song?” She felt Rapunzel bob her head in a nod, her hair itching against Cassandra’s nose.

How ironic, she thought, that the woman who abandoned her in the woods would one day indirectly save her life. She clung to Rapunzel a little harder, taking in the small, occasional sobs the girl exhaled.

“Why?” Rapunzel inquired. Cassandra merely shook her head to dispel her worries.

“Just thinking about the irony of fate. Did you know it would work?”

“...no. With Eugene, it was my tears. With you? I just remember running to you and holding you, and the light surrounding us, and that horrible arrow just kind of disintegrated.” The princess explained. “Oh _Cass_ , I was so scared. When I saw you get hit--!”

A fresh wave of tears stalled the conversation for another few minutes before she gathered herself.

“Is everyone else safe?” Cassandra whispered, hope weighing heavily against her chest. A few of the guards hadn’t been so lucky.

“Yes, the bad people fled after my parents were escorted away. Your father and Rúna are pursuing them, most of the other diplomats are in lockdown at the embassies. There’re guards _everywhere_ now, and they closed off the inland roads. The docks too.” Rapunzel continued, rambling forth the information. “Rúna was _really_ angry.”

Cassandra grimaced, reminding herself of the fact that Rapunzel wasn’t the only one who had witnessed her fall. “She’s seen me hurt before but I suppose nothing like this.” 

“Mom too. I’ve never seen her so upset before.” The princess re-adjusted her position a bit, shifting her weight to comfortably rest on the bed with one hand nestled against Cassandra’s sternum. “She was staying with you since your father is busy leading the guards. They’re all rather cross with me. My dad is furious.” 

“Raps…” She began, but found there were no real platitudes to give. Rapunzel was not stupid enough to believe them.

“I know. You don’t have to say it’s ok, because it wasn’t. I did something stupid, and you got hurt because of it, and I’ll try to never do something like this again.” Rapunzel admitted weakly, then filled in with a smaller voice. “I… I guess I just have to accept that other people might really like you, and ki- kiss you a little, and not get mad over it. You’re pretty, so a lot of people probably do like you anyway. I feel so dumb, and I’m sorry.”

“It’s… yeah.” She replied, grateful for her perceptiveness. Maybe she had given Rapunzel too little credit where it was due.

Cassandra pulled away so they could see each other, mostly so the younger girl could see her break into a slightly crooked smile.

“Kiss me a little?” She asked smugly, snickering.

“Cass, I’m trying to be serious.” 

“I know, it’s just, how does one ‘kiss a little’?” 

“ _Cass-_ ”

“And is there an opposite? Can you ‘kiss a bunch’?”

Rapunzel pinched her and she faked some pain. They both laughed. When Rapunzel looked up at her again, there was a question in her eyes; it was vulnerable and brave and it made the swordswoman feel naked beneath her gaze. Cassandra pushed their foreheads together and they stopped for a few moments, filling the space between them with tender silence. Rapunzel sighed and put a hand atop Cassandra’s heart.

Then, she kissed her, briefly and delicately, like the touch of gentle wings. 

And they didn’t need to speak for a long while after.

When Cassandra woke again, the skies had turned grey with husks of navy and spotted crisp clouds, and if she strained her ears she could hear the titters of distant birdsong. Rapunzel slept peacefully in her arms. The young woman’s weight was a comfort and an anchor all at once and it imbued her with a sense of peaceful wonder. She remembered Xavier’s words then, about the things her hands would carry through life’s fickle paths, and she couldn’t help but wonder if she had understood his lessons at last.

***

Arianna had to stifle a laugh when she pushed the infirmary door open at the sixth hour. 

She had spent the night sleeplessly tossing back and forth in worry, then skipped breakfast to hurry to the medical wing, hoping to catch any changes to Cassandra’s 'magically induced' coma. What met her was a surprise to say the least. 

It took a few seconds for her to take in the sight of the two young women huddled together on the narrow, rickety bed. They were asleep, facing each other and looked like a pair of children beneath the sterile white of the quilt. A bob of brown intermingled with a bob of black, covered to their ears. Cassandra held onto Rapunzel as if she was all that mattered in the world.

She committed the picture carefully to her memory, then stepped out and closed the door. Then, she gave them another few minutes of peace before knocking like all mothers would, hard, rapt and with full intention to be bothersome.

“Rapunzel?” She called, trying her very best to sound both neutral and a little worried. “Has Cassandra woken up yet?”

A loud yelp, followed by a thud was heard from the other side, followed by a series of urgent whispers and hushed giggles. 

Arianna chuckled into her hand.

“Yes, mom! We’re ready now!” Her daughter was heard exclaiming in a suspiciously high-pitched voice. This was followed by a groan and more whispers. 

She opened the door and it was only decennia of experience fostered by international politics that allowed her to maintain her facade. 

Rapunzel had relocated to the armchair, sitting straight with her dress slightly askew and looking like rumpled week-old laundry. A cursory attempt had been made to correct her hair, likely by swipes of hand or whatever a surgery station had to offer. Despite this, her daughter looked _radiant._ Happy. Contended. _Calm._ And without a hint of embarrassment on her lovely, perky face. The room’s second occupant however, looked like she had swallowed a fistful of nails and was determined to keep them down. Cassandra’s expression looked like a mix of obvious, wide-eyed guilt combined with an impending sneeze. They had even scourged up a cup of water for her to sip on while playing the convincing patient.

“Good morning, mom!”

“...your majesty.” Cassandra choked in greeting.

They were truly terrible and Arianna would never regret bringing them together.

Deciding to indulge their charade, she walked straight up to the bed and embraced Cassandra, ignoring the girl’s fumbling reassurances of being fine and held her until the ache within herself abated. And her child did look fine, slightly pale but otherwise energetic enough to be on her legs, maybe in need of a few hot meals and a couple days of oversight. 

“Rapunzel, darling?” She said warmly. “Thank you for looking after Cassandra. We’re all very grateful since, well, as you can imagine it has been an hectic few days.” She combed her hand through her daughter’s scalp, frowning slightly at the presence of blonde hair. “Also your father wants to see you later, to discuss your punishment.”

“I- I see, thanks mom. And don’t worry, it was a... a real pl- _pleasure_ to be with Cass.” She replied with a brittle cheer and quickly reddening cheeks. Cassandra stared at her incredulously. 

“You’ll likely be grounded for a very long time after all the guests have departed. I suggest you take the punishment without complaints.” The queen explained blithely, reading the looks between them, at what the girls believed to be silent communication. 

Rapunzel blinked nervously. “I don’t know what ‘grounded’ means, but it sounds _bad_.”

“I’ll tell you later.” Cassandra filled in quickly. “Your majesty? Where- what about my father?”

Arianna’s expression softened, taking a seat at the foot of the bed. “He’s leading the investigation into the assassination attempt. As you can imagine, Gustav took the attack rather personally. I asked him to take an hour to drop by at least, he should be here shortly.”

Cassandra nodded and looked down at her knees, her eyes downcast in contemplation. The girl never liked it when her father left her behind for work. 

Long lashes, naturally arched and beautifully aligned along tints of rustic grey, like clouds and curtains of rain. Strange, the queen thought, she had never noticed how Cassandra’s eyes could look like her own in certain shades of light.

“Cassie,” She said firmly, grasping her hands around the cup. “You did good. We were wrong in our intel and that has nothing to do with you. One of the apprehended suspects confessed that the targets were me and Frederic all along, and the spymaster believes it to be truthful. Rapunzel is safe, and there was nothing you could have done differently.”

“... Yes ma’am.” She replied, looking slightly better.

“You have done your job admirably.” She confirmed. “I could not have asked for a better bodyguard for Rapunzel.” 

“Actually in regards to that,” Rapunzel piped up from the side, looking sheepishly pleased. “Me and Cassandra might want to discuss her position for reconsideration later.”

The queen narrowed her eyes and slipped into an expression of faux-surprise. “ _Really_ now? May I ask why?”

Rapunzel shrunk beneath her eyes.

“I- I just feel ready for a normal security detail now. What happened really put things into perspective and I realized I need to be more responsible about my own safety. It’s also been some time and well, this will allow Cass to follow her other pursuits.” Rapunzel tried with skittish, hopeful optimism. Cassandra suddenly looked at her in growing panic. “Because Cassandra has a lot of other things she wants to do aside from looking after me, see? And… she can’t even _date_ on this job mom! I read the rules! Royal bodyguards are not allowed to have personal relationships of this nature at all! Which is such a _pity_ , right Cass?”

Cassandra looked like she wanted to sink through the floor.

“As the princess said, we can discuss this at a later occasion.” She whimpered and shot a series of glares in Rapunzel’s direction. Rapunzel sent a mix of self-conscious, apologetic expressions in return. “I am still recovering, after all.”

Arianna let out a loud snort, unable to help herself.

They were interrupted however by the arrival of the captain who cried out in joy at the sight of his blustering, awake daughter. Nothing else was said on the topic after that. The four of them took breakfast as the morning passed, chatted on updates and inquired about Cassandra’s physical condition; this went on until the queen and the captain had to excuse themselves to duty. Arianna rolled her eyes when Rapunzel almost bounced up on the bed when both older adults got to the door, her eyes solely fixed on the taller girl like an adoring puppy. Cassandra, while exasperated, made no attempts to stop her.

“They seem to be very good friends.” Gustav commented happily as they left the infirmary.

Arianna shot him a long and tired look. When he didn’t catch on, she simply took him by his shoulder and led them away. 

  
  


***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finished the build up, the tournament and Rapunzel going gold, now we do snuggles. 
> 
> Final chapter coming along soon. Yeah, this was never meant to be a long story, more like an extra episode on an alternate universe. I really wanted to have *Cassandra* being the one being fought over, and this chapter turned out better than I expected. I was literally laughing my *** off while writing the first half. Cassandra being like "*who* are you idiots fighting over?" is peak Cass energy to me.


	7. A Storm In Summer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where Cassandra says good-byes and realizes that life is more than the sum of all its parts, Rapunzel gets into literature of dubious nature, and Arianna proves indeed that mother knows best.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta: Cyn, who sat with me through this despite my incessant whining and crying and moments of crippling ego-collapse and writer-monologue at 3AM. None of this would have been possible without Cyn. All hail.

As the investigations progressed and concluded, the delegations of dignitaries began to trickle away in numbers, until the Captain could fully claim a full night’s sleep again and things slowly settled into the old slog of normalcy. 

Lance and Eugene, having narrowly escaped punishment for enabling Rapunzel’s near catastrophic stunt, volunteered with the guard and rode for Vardaros, following the moneytrail of the hired assailants with all the skills of two expert criminals. The city was brittle with tension for a few weeks, with a curfew, and the constables in red visible at all hours in the streets. The king resumed his duties while the spymaster worked in the shadows, interrogating the captives with no intention of hurry, and slowly, the nature of the plan emerged.

Kill the royal couple, and put the half-wit recluse princess on the throne. 

Cassandra’s blood had run cold like a splash of ice against her guts when she heard the confession retold to her father. For the murder to happen during a summit meant to strengthen the kingdom’s naval position had to be symbolic. She knew King Frederic’s maritime ambitions had opposition, but this, this was _vile_. An unready and heartbroken queen would have thrown Corona into chaos. The damage to Rapunzel would have been irreparable.

Their young princess was many things; kind and gentle and a bundle of fireworks, but she was not _ready_.

The Captain went through the castle’s security detail and admitted it needed reorganisation, maybe in need of more subterfuge than tight-sticking personal guards who stood out as much as the royals themselves. Cassandra was, after all, a rather well-known face after her victory in the arena. Children flocked to her in town, eager to see the Sword of Corona and trailed in her shadow like a flock of ducklings, and Rapunzel would gleefully note that she did not seem to hate it.

And so, after extensive negotiations with Arianna, she was permitted to terminate her position only when the last of the guests had left. This would conveniently start at the same time as Rapunzel’s punishment while Cassandra and her father came up with a new security rotation. Ironically, Rapunzel could hardly seem to wait.

In all honesty, Cassandra felt rather chipper about it too. Being kissed was _nice._

This brought her and a downright beaming princess to the docks on the last day of High Summer as the Alsvinder prepared to make for the sea. Rúna, who never missed a woman’s moods, was fast to pick this up and choose, of course, to attribute this to the wrong end.

“Ah, I see.” She said thoughtfully as she looked at Rapunzel’s bright, bouncy form as Cassandra followed her up the gangplank. “Well done, Cassandra.”

“Do I even dare to ask?” She said flatly, knowing what was coming.

“I should be the one asking. I mean, to be able to make a woman _glow_ like that? I salute your labours and their _satisfying_ result.” The blonde princess commented with admiration, wagging her brows. Cassandra rolled her eyes but had the dignity to blush. “Thought out of curiosity, did you have a change of… preferences? I mean, she’s _tiny_. I thought you prefered to be the one to be ah--”

“Do _not_ finish that sentence.” She snapped in embarrassment. “ _Please._ ”

“--rolled and lovingly controlled-”

“Runi!”

“--bended and delightfully tended-" 

“Oh _gods_.”

“--pleased and... Shall I go on?” She asked, showing teeth in a familiar smirk.

“Would you stop _rhyming,_ you dolt?” Cassandra shoved her in blustering outrage. It was, however, ire mixed with a good amount of affection. Rúna had never been one for jealousy, and she had stared point-blank into Rapunzel’s golden transformation and not uttered a single word. Her only given reaction was an odd sense of respect which the younger princess basked in. Rapunzel on the other hand, acknowledged that Rúna had protected her with her own life. A steady understanding seemed to have passed between them and their rivalry simmered down to a balance, of sorts.

And as demanding as the blonde could be, Rúna was never unreasonable. Never disrespectful. Cassandra’s final answer had no doubt disappointed her deeply, but as with a great many things, she took it with grace and thoughtful restraint. Only fools would fight the course of winds and a warrior of Ingvar did not rage at family.

She pushed past the blonde in irritation and strode up to the main mast with a dagger drawn. Then, with a decisive stroke and a chest full of complicated feelings, she crossed her name diagonally from the windtorn, leathery wood. She counted the other names; diagonal for the landbound, and crossed for the dead, each mast a story of those who had sailed beneath its white cloth. Cassandra brushed splinters from her carving, finding some of former shipmates who had left to take on other trades. They had carved their names when they first boarded as half-grown children, and now that journey was at its end.

A flash of regret crossed Rúna’s face when she turned around, their eyes met and she knew then that something large had changed irrefutably. Destiny had played its cards and she, in turn, had chosen. 

The crew dispersed, a few saluted her departure as befitting a Honoured until only she and its captain remained. They looked to each other in loaded silence, their shared history sinking between them like a stone.

“This is it then.” Rúna said slowly, her eyes wispy as they looked over the harbour.

“Aye, here our paths divide.” Cassandra replied wistfully. The Ingvarri looked over the bulwark at the waiting Rapunzel and gave the younger girl a wave.

“You sure know how to pick them.” The blonde nodded towards the brunette. “I’m sure you’ve realized, but that one’s gonna be queen.” 

Cassandra smiled wryly. “A fact I have duly noticed, and worry about daily.” 

“Hmm.” The other’s tune was grave. Rúna crossed her arms as she picked through words carefully. “I say this out of worry, Cassandra. I know you don't fear battle, but there are reasons I stay away from my mother’s court despite it’s comforts. Politics, and the games the nobles play can be just as low and dirty as a blue-knuckled fistfight, and magic-girl there doesn’t have the best support among the Coronan nobility.”

“The Queen is hoping that will amend with time. We do have time, still.” She agreed. It was a source of great worry for both Arianna and the king. No monarch could truly rule without the powerful, and Rapunzel’s reign would hardly be different.

“That will depend on what she brings to the table.” Rúna replied pragmatically. “Nothing’s ever free in the game, and few things come as costly as power. I watched my older siblings toss their names around like children and learned enough to want no part. Most of my kin do not have the privilege to walk away like me.” There was a quiet, festering pain to her words. Cassandra knew she meant her two oldest siblings and the political rivalry that had torn the first and secondborn’s relationship apart.

She nodded mutely and grimaced, acutely aware of her own limitations. Her legacy as the captain’s daughter would hardly buy Rapunzel support, and her name carried neither land nor riches. How would she be worthy of her one day, when the glory of her victory became a burden of past deeds? A navy officer's rank would be a place to start, but so much work remained.

“Just take heed, storm-eyes. And know this; whoever wants her on the throne right now is no friend of Corona.” 

Cassandra studied Rúna’s strong, concerned face. “I’ll be careful.” She promised. The blonde hmm-ed in response.

A loud call from the second mate drew attention on deck as a large net of supplies was loaded onboard. The port crane swung their way, creaking like broken timber. The ship’s girl rode the cargo net with a pearl of laughter as the older sailors grunted and swatted at her head. She jumped down, reported the contents to Siru who was overseeing the work, her loose, ginger pony-tail whipping about her head. Cassandra took notice of a tattoo around the girl’s wrist, marking her as a thrall. She frowned but did not comment. Ten years at sea would set a thrall free, and it was no longer her business how Rúna conducted her crew.

“Hey.” 

The princess reached for her hip and loosened one of her two swords, pulling it and its scabbard free with a sinewy snap. She remained dignified when holding it between them, addressing it with no awkwardness or break in composure. Words turned into cotton as Cassandra focused on the weapon in front of her and recalled how Rúna had always been better at good-byes.

It was a fine piece of smithwork, beautiful in its simple, sturdy way of the north. The scabbard was made of darkened deer-hide with patterns of waves and details in silver. The guard was short, like Ingvarri swords were, with a long, steady grip taped carefully with shark skin. She pulled out the blade, admiring its cold, slightly blue-tinted steel and the runes inscribed into its neck. 

“It’s named _Vyssja_ , to send them to a gentle death.” The princess explained. “I had it made when I left home, determined to not go back until every wench in port knew a song to my name, but-” Rúna paused breathlessly, her mouth thinning to a tense line before she let the weapon go into Cassandra’s hands. “It's yours. Take it, and I fight with you as we were meant to. You are and will always be my battle-sister, now and forever.”

Something ached in her throat and there was suddenly hot iron in her chest.

 _How odd,_ Cassandra thought, _that my eyes are burning._

She did not look away as the fire trickled down her left cheek, and her hands did not shake when she unfastened the leathers of her own belt, though the clasps to her primary felt unusually wooden. She held it forth, blinking rapidly to cover for her embarrassing sentimentality.

Hers was nothing of beauty. It was a sword, forged by Xavier from Coronan blacksteel for a girl about to journey to far away lands, commissioned by a worried father to be reliable and pragmatic and the best of its kind. It was as much part of her as an extended limb and her flank felt weak without its weight.

She handed the sword to Rúna, who waited expectantly, and raised a brow when the other showed no sign of comprehension.

“Well?” The warrior asked amusedly. “Does it have a name?”

Cassandra blinked at this oversight, feeling a bit stupid. 

“Um, not really, I just call it ‘my sword’.”

Rúna barked out a laughter, having fully expected something like this. “Of course you did, that is so very like you. Very well then, ‘ _Cassandra’s Sword_ ’ it is and she and I shall get along nicely. This way you shall be with me no matter where I go.”

“Always, Runi.” She replied heavily. “I am yours. Blood of my blood.”

“The tides guide us both.”

“ _Let the winds be swift, the deeps be kind, and our journeys join again_.” They said in unison.

That was it. Neither of them had any more to say.

The last of the supplies and freshwater was carried aboard. A tired looking dockmaster was starting to give the Ingvarri dirty looks as he strode along the beach, flipping through a pocket-sized ledger. Siru signalled the crew to their stations, and they both knew it was time. Rúna walked her to the gangplank, side by side.

She set one foot atop the creaky wood. Rapunzel was waiting just below, humming and sketching into a book she had brought along. Then, in the blink of a moment, Cassandra turned to stand in front of the blonde warrior for one last time, appreciating all her cunning brashness and everything she was. She closed the distance before Rúna had the time to react and pressed their lips together-

\--and she saw a life, a _life_ \-- of her crossing the Eastmost Sea, into the Chanhen archipelago and charting under a starlit sky, she saw glory and herself walking onto the beaches of new, unknown lands and the touch of warm blonde hair in the night, she saw a hall of stone and wood, a lit hearth and the pitter-patter of children’s feet-

And she let it go.

Rúna did not speak because sometimes words ceased to have meaning. All Cassandra could hear was Rapunzel making indignant noises behind her. She gave the Ingvarri princess a final squeeze before marching down the plank. The warrior looked a bit dazed but recovered quickly. The order to set sails was called and the sailors raised their oars, pushing the ship away.

The blonde shot a last smirk at the visibly fuming Rapunzel.

“Crown princess of Corona,” She called, loud and smug for all to hear. “I leave my pathfinder with you, and I hold you to care for her with devotion. Should I ever hear a whiff of mistreatment or unhappiness from her however, you do well to remember that I have a ship and it is fast and she will always have a place onboard.”

She waved and made a semi-rude gesture as the ship gathered speed. Rapunzel stood up straight and returned the gesture proudly, likely having no clue of what the insult meant. Cassandra just stared at the exchange tiredly and raised a hand in farewell. 

They sat at the pier for quite some time after, as morning turned to noon and the Alsvinder left the great crescent of Crownhaven Bay, raising its sail out of the Teeth as the wind lifted its prow to speed. Rapunzel sat beside her, quietly and with the sides of their knees touching. To Cassandra’s relief, the princess did not seem angry or triumphant, but had reverted to the companionable peace they commonly shared. She made no comments as she watched the swordswoman brood, her hand atop the other’s.

“I- are you- what happens now?” The princess started but trailed off, unsure of how to address the changes of the recent weeks. The wind swept russet locks across her face, streaks of blonde dancing like wisps. Cassandra brushed them aside to properly see her with the new sword clasped tightly in her lap.

“Well, starting from tomorrow, I am no longer your guard.” She said conversationally, eyes sliding to the speck of white sail at sea. “Oh, and you will be grounded.”

“That’s not really what I meant.”

“I know.” Cassandra reassured with a smile, squeezing the princess’s hand. “I’m signing up for the officer’s academy first thing tomorrow. The new semester starts in two months." 

"If… if that's what you want then I don't think I get to stop you. No one really does when I think about it." Rapunzel said factually but with some sadness. “I shall miss you during the weekdays.”

"I kind of feared that you or the queen would ask me to stay, and it would make me buckle in the end." She grimaced. “So thanks, for not asking.”

"Would you really?"

"Unhappily, yes. I am my father's daughter." Cassandra said ruefully, patting the pommel of her sword. "But in the end, the choice was always mine and my responsibility. I am still a subject to my King and so I need to find means to make my skills useful. This is more about me than you or the Queen. I am at peace with it.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” The princess’s brows pinched in anxiety and she looked a little ashamed.

The swordswoman nudged her. “What’s wrong?”

“... I just feel silly. I was actually worried until the very end, that Rúna might just knock you over the head and sail away, like a kidnapping! And just leave me standing like a fool.” 

Cassandra laughed and tried to imagine it. “That would be like her. She did carry a noblewoman off into the woods once because she couldn’t dance with her.”

“What, why?” Rapunzel asked puzzled.

“To ask her again privately, perhaps? The woman was married you see, and we _were_ in her clan hold.”

“But how would they dance in the woods?” 

Cassandra shot the princess a meaningful look. Rapunzel reddened a bit when she understood the implications.

“ _Oh!_ ” She blinked, and swatted at the dark-haired girl who hid her amusement poorly. “Don’t tease me! I’m doing my best with all these euphemisms.”

So she kissed her instead, first on the nose and then at the corner of her mouth, soft pecks against sun-stained freckles. Rapunzel looked dazzled until her mind caught up and just leaned into it happily. They had done their outmost to be discreet since the infirmary, hugs and kisses were easy enough to hide, but standing guard while the princess bathed had become a slow, appreciated form of torture and Cassandra couldn’t wait for her contract to be over. Neither could Rapunzel, who was terrible at being a sneak and didn’t even try to divert her stares. 

“That was very nice.” The princess breathed excitedly and pulled a little closer. “Hey Cass, you know how a new day starts at the first hour? Like, legally?”

“Mmm.” Cassandra agreed non-committedly. “I am familiar with the concept.”

“So that means your contract expires at midnight, right?” She could see the gears turning in Rapunzel’s head, her eyes narrowing as whatever ideas she had came into shape. 

“I suppose.” She chuckled.

Rapunzel nodded and suddenly looked shy, she kicked with her feet over the water, earlobes reddening something furiously. “That means you will no longer get into trouble if we’re together, you know, um, for _real._ ” 

“ _Indeed_.” 

“Would you leave your door unlocked tonight then, for me?” Rapunzel asked gently, her voice as light as a feather.

Cassandra choked on air. She stared at the younger girl, suddenly acutely aware of her speeding heart and slow breath. The waves lapped against the pier and the sea seemed more distinct in its colours and acrid smell of sulphur and kelp. A young child ran along the wharf chasing seagulls. She focused on the freckles on the other’s face and slightly chapped lips. Rapunzel’s hand tightened around her own.

“Cass?” She sounded nervous. “You don’t have to, it’s not a--”

“N- no, it’s fine.” Cassandra replied hastily, mouth suddenly dry “I will, the door I mean. It will be open. Please come, I- I will- yeah.” 

“Are you... sure?”

“I am.” She took a deep, steadying breath. “You just caught me off guard.”

“Because you know, if we’re going to be _a thing_ , you’re allowed to refuse my advances.”

“Your _advances,_ huh.” Cassandra parroted in disbelief, massaging her temples. The princess had with little doubt studied another pink-and-cheesy novel from the romance aisle, and cared little or did not recognize the involved archetypes. “Funny, I thought I would be the one to- never mind, it’s not important. Nothing ever goes like I think it will so why even bother.”

Rapunzel studied her inquisitively like she often did when Cassandra wasn’t making much sense. “Well I’m the prin _cess_ , and you’re my fair maiden.”

“But I have a sword.” Cassandra pointed out needlessly, feeling her pride crumble a bit. “I don’t think that’s how the stereotype goes.”

“Does it matter?” And that was an honest and good question.

In the face of such overwhelming evidence, the swordswoman buckled and kissed her lady again.

Rapunzel perked up, her shoulders squared in triumph and Cassandra could almost visualize the other making a small fistpump. She wondered how her own expression looked like then. The princess stood up from the grey stone, stretched and pulled the other with her. The sunlight caught in her back and alighted her frame in gold and blue, and for the briefest of moments, Cassandra saw the Queen Rapunzel one day would become; a spirit of joyful compassion, beautiful and vibrant. 

They stood and the moment passed as Rapunzel began to drag her towards vendors selling iced fruit and baked clams. She followed and her doubts were forgotten.

***

The hearth was a roaring crackle when she was finally done with the fire. 

Cassandra had spent the evening in her room, anxiously tidying up, tossing laundry into the basket and stuffing an assortment of knives and weapons into her wardrobe. She dusted whatever furniture that was left and set out to sweep and light the fireplace as the evening chill fell, caring obsessively about every detail until there were no further things to do. The pleasant smell of cedar and smoky beech filled the room while she paced restlessly and kept giving her door furtive glances. A fidgety bath in the servants’ quarters and a fresh set of clothes did nothing to calm her frayed nerves, and she spent the next half an hour fretting over the choice of a simple tunic and shorts.

All of this resulted in her sitting on her bed and staring nervously into space while sharpening her favourite dagger, taking solace in the sound of whetstone against metal until she realized how alarming that might look. No weapons then. Rapunzel wasn’t Ingvarri and would not find blades particularly affectionate. Putting those away and growing more tense by the hour, she grabbed one of her navigator journals and decided to read, letting her own carefully documented words be a distraction.

Gods, why was this so hard? 

Cassandra wasn’t a dunce by far. Harbor towns had well-deserved reputations because sailors made them so. She had enough experience to not completely fall apart at the mercies of lovely women, or so she used to believe. This woman in particular however, seemed destined to break her expectations. 

In summary, Rapunzel made Cassandra _nervous._

The twelfth hour was called as she was flipping heedlessly through her sketches of the Jornskaag coast. She barely heard the cat-pawed steps of bare feet as her door opened and Rapunzel slipped in. The princess was dressed in a light, sparsely decorated nightgown and wrapped in a lavender shawl. She entered with a candle in hand and remained in the door for a few seconds as if struck, taking her lounging, frozen form in. Then, she shut the door close quietly and pushed down the hatch.

Cassandra swallowed as Rapunzel walked slowly to her desk and put the candle down, she extinguished the flame then brushed her shawl off tense shoulders to fold it neatly across a chair; she did this with slightly shaky hands and her eyes never leaving Cassandra’s, and it struck the older girl how the princess must be nervous too. The brunette paused where she stood, face blank and unsure of how to proceed, wringing her hands timidly.

Putting her journal aside, Cassandra rearranged herself to a comfortable, cross-legged position and patted to the space beside her. Rapunzel needed no further encouragement as she visibly relaxed and all but sprinted across the floor, bounced the last two steps before ignoring her suggestion and dropped herself onto the taller girl’s lap. It was only practiced experience of catching the other girl in hugs that guided Cassandra’s momentum and stopped them from toppling over. 

A pair of familiar arms came around her waist and she felt her chest swell as Rapunzel burrowed herself against her shoulder, tucking herself neatly into what was fast becoming the princess’s favourite spot. Cassandra felt the air being squeezed out of her pleasantly. Both jostled to get comfortable, giggling along the way. Her own hands wandered over the gentle shapes of scapulas, trailing down the small dips of the spine to the low of Rapunzel’s back. She took a deep, languish breath, and buried her face into warm hair, letting her previous tension fade like mist.

“Cass?” 

“Mmh?” She mumbled.

“I would like to be kissed now.” Rapunzel breathed, biting her lip. “ _Please_.”

And so she did, following the command of her infuriating lady with no more duty to stop her. She kissed her like she always meant to do, soft and hot and breathy, seeking permission as she gently probed against the other’s lips. Rapunzel let out a small whimper as she buried a fist into Cassandra’s raven hair, pulling her head slightly back as she let the other follow. Heat rose through her body, tingling and chafing at her every nerve. Her hands dipped gently around Rapunzel’s waist as she pulled her in, pressing their bodies together in tender abandon as she kissed the princess with her whole body and leaving little to doubt. 

Rapunzel held her in place with a hand at the back of her head when they broke apart, the princess clearly gasping while Cassandra tried her damndest for control. She shuddered, drunk in the other’s smell and skin and the primal effect of a woman’s body against her own.

“ _Wow_.” Rapunzel whispered.

“Agreed.” Cassandra said and did not have time to comment further as the princess pushed back and initiated a second kiss. For a long while, there was only the sound of ruffling clothes and breathless sighs. Gentle, curious fingers slipped beneath layers of linen and danced along the ridge of her ribs. Rapunzel broke away when Cassandra pulled at the rems which held her gown together, running fingers between the gaps of exposed skin. She was clearly appreciative, but skittish.

“Is this ok?” Cassandra spoke softly. The princess nodded quickly but suddenly looked incredibly shy. “Raps, we don’t have to do this if you’re not ready.”

“No no, it’s just... Well it’s embarrassing.” 

“I doubt it can be, considering where your hands are.” She joked. Rapunzel pinched her in revenge.

“I… might have read some stuff from the adult section of the library, because I thought- well, to be _prepared_.” The younger girl squeaked in stutters. “And it just made me more confused.”

Cassandra’s eyes bulged. She should definitely have burned those while she had the chance.

“But all the books were about a _man_ and a woman! The only volume I could find involving two women was a triangle thingy, and there was _still_ a man during the- the- um, well, _important_ parts! I couldn’t make sense of the descriptions at all.” Rapunzel complained with a frown.

“Oh gods, _Raps_.” She snickered into the other’s hair. 

“Actually, the writing in general was pretty puzzling. How would lips even ‘crash’ into each other, Cass? Doesn’t that _hurt_?” There was confusion in her face.

 _“Oh gods, Raps.”_ Laughter rose like bubbles through her chest. The mental image of Rapunzel perched on her reading shelf while nose-deep in smut was just too much. Somehow, her reaction put the princess at peace.

"It's a bit ridiculous isn't it?" Rapunzel commented while snuggling closer, shoulders taut and slightly hunched over. She fidgeted in the taller girl’s lap, as if she suddenly wanted to shrink into herself. “I just didn’t want to look stupid. It’s not like you would think that but-” Her voice went quiet as she searched for words. “For the longest time, I was told only how silly I was or that I wasn’t much to look at. I know you don’t think that, but sometimes it's hard to trust myself and be sure. You can be a bit prickly but it's never in a bad way, and you always mean the kind things you say and that is such a relief to know.”

 _Oh_.

Cassandra turned cold as she could guess who had caused such self-deprecation and decided she would have none of it. Sometimes, destiny just had to be retold.

“I... I think the world of you, of all of you and all the time, even when we disagree. In every aspect and regard.” She said honestly, to which Rapunzel only nodded. 

“I know. I love you, Cass.”

The words were sweet and violent, and she understood why the other made her _ache_. She was hardly a great poet when it came to the delicate matters of love, but surely its mystery must start with the self so one might know the nature of the heart to be shared? Cassandra thought of the many people who had touched her life, of the love they had loved and in turn passed on to her so she might one day share with another. 

And the answer came to her effortlessly.

She pulled Rapunzel down and laid beside her, letting the closeness be their balm. To her pleasant surprise, the princess rolled herself on top, bare legs settling easily on the sides of the taller girl’s hips as she swayed in this new balance. The sight alone made Cassandra tremble. With her heartbeat climbing to a crescendo in her throat, and fingertips trailing paths along the curves of knees, thighs and finally slipping beneath soft satin cloth, Cassandra gave Rapunzel all she had to give. They didn't say much for some time and ceased altogether when clothes finally slipped off. If Rapunzel was her undoing, then she was happily undone.

Hours later, at mid-dawn, when the sky had shed its nightcloak for the burn of orange and red, Cassandra awoke to the sight of Rapunzel sitting beside her gazing peacefully outside. She sat with knees pulled in beneath a sweet chin and arms loosely wound around herself like a ball of yarn, equally graceful as graceless. The light danced along her skin, against her neck and shoulders, by the shapes of breast and ribs and the arc of her waist, and set everything it touched on fire.

“The sunrise is so pretty from your room.” The princess smiled when she noticed her scrutiny, pointing to the world outside.

“Yeah.” She agreed without looking away. “It really is.”

***

A few weeks went by and the great oaks of the castle proper showed the first signs of yellow in their tips when the captain knocked on Cassandra’s door one lazy afternoon. 

She pulled out a chair and cleaned some space on her crowded table, pushed aside a plate with a half-eaten sandwich and some waxed scrolls as her father strode in, followed by an elderly woman carrying a bag and several bundles of expensive-looking cloth. Gustav gave her slightly messy abode a critical look. He was dressed in his formals with his rank insignia pinned to shoulders and chest without a speck out of place, looking every part of his station as the King's man. Stern, sleepless eyes studied the piles of academy issued books on her desk, before he cleared his throat and turned to his companion.

“Cassandra, this is madame Colletreux.” He gestured between them as she bowed, unsure of what this visit entailed. “Madame, meet my daughter.”

“She’s not nearly as tall as they say.” The woman chuckled and beckoned her to come closer as she rolled out tape, chalk and squissors. “Come on then, girl. I don’t have all day.”

“Sir?” She looked at him, puzzled.

“It’s for your uniform.” He sounded tired, his mind no doubt preoccupied, but there was an undertone of real pride when he looked her over. “I made some time in my schedule and thought we could do this together.”

The seamstress clucked her tongue and spared no time to drape a tapestry of navy blue cloth over her shoulder, chalk and tape in hand. Another bundle in black followed and was pinned around her waist. Cassandra spent the next half hour being prodded and turned at her behest.

“She’ll need a few sets, summer and winter casuals, a coat, a few shirts and a formal attire. And oiled boots.” The woman droned as her father mostly watched, adding practical suggestions occasionally for adjustments in his typical thoughtful way. Few men in the castle had been in uniform as long as the Captain of the guard and his advice did not come without weight.

Cassandra swallowed the lump in her throat as she was handed a spare uniform to try on. It was one size too large and made for someone with longer arms, but the image of herself in the mirror gave her pause. Dark-blue, tightly weaved linen hung comfortably over her shoulders and gathered snugly around her waist with a black sash; belts were on top, chafing slightly against the double-breasted front with silver buttons, a junior officer’s insignia shone above the heart. She looked good- _different_ , compared to her Ingvarri clothes and it was like seeing the culmination of a childhood dream. Juvenile excitement bubbled in her stomach and she felt her lips tipping into a full-edged grin.

Her father came up beside her. A steady hand gripped her shoulder as they looked into the mirror at the future ahead.

“I always thought you would be wearing red.” He mused, voice breaking as if the emotions it vesseled were tools in which he had little practice. 

“I hoped we could wait with that timeless rivalry until I’ve at least set foot inside the academy.” She said with some humour.

“A careless assumption.” He chuckled deeply. “But nevertheless. I thought so because you hounded me constantly about it as a child, and I thought it was ill-advised at first because of the dangers, but you persisted so I let you have a sword.” He paused contemplatively. “And look at you now. Shows what a man knows about raising daughters.”

“You did good, dad.” She answered without hesitation. In her mind she was a child again, carried in his arms from an empty home with a broken heart, she was a girl again, and hugged as he patiently explained why Arianna never joined them for dinner, and she was a teenager again, sword drawn and limbs burning as he sent her crashing to the ground. “You did more than most.” 

His face opened up, and for one moment it seemed like he wanted to add something to say but settled for a firm squeeze around her shoulder. 

She did not need words to see the pride in his eyes. 

Later, when the dining halls closed and the first lanterns were lit across the city below, she met up with Rapunzel at the far end of the palace garden. The secluded overlook was hard to find even for experienced castle staff, protected by a marble balustrade overgrown with vines and wisterias. The princess had set up her canvas at the end of the terrace, hoping to catch the city falling asleep. She lit up when the swordswoman emerged from the hedges, finally done with her day. 

They passed time as Rapunzel painted, talking about mundane, enjoyable things. Cassandra told her about the incoming uniforms and regretted it instantly as the princess begged her to model, utilizing every pout in her fastly growing arsenal to get her will. Predictably, Cassandra folded like a house of cards. 

“That is not fair.” She grumped at the resolve-destroying puppy-eyes before her in despair.

“But Cass, what would you have me look at when you’re away at school? A handsome drawing of you looking your best might help me through some lonely nights.” Rapunzel argued coyly. “I guess I could go and get some of the recent Moonlit Phantomer books instead. Who knew there were so many books involving relationships between women in the adult section? All I needed to do was to ask.”

Cassandra felt the vestiges of a migraine rise and narrowed her eyes at her all to smug-looking girlfriend. “This is an obvious trap. There’s nothing that stops you from buying those even if I agree.” 

“Oh ye of so little faith.”

“Don’t start, you would totally do both.” Cassandra retorted but paused suddenly at the naked possibility presented. “Wait, was that your plan all along? What are you going to do with that painting?” 

Rapunzel tapped her foot, looking both indignant and amused at the taller girl who was blushing up a storm. If there was a kernel of truth to that statement, she was most certainly not sorry for being found out. The princess stalked closer and backed Cassandra into the marble fence, she threw her arms around her and tipped her head up for a kiss.

“Well, I won’t be able to do this-” She said and kissed her again for emphasis. “So I must find some other means for comfort, and I do love painting you. Would you deny me this, really?” 

Cassandra sighed and shook her head, knowing when the battle was lost. She caught the shorter girl around the waist for no other reason than how nice it felt. Rapunzel squealed and leaned into her, happy like a clam and twice as clingy. 

All seemed at peace, until someone cleared their throat loudly.

They flew apart and whipped around, nearly knocking Rapunzel’s canvas to the ground in their hurry. And of course, there was only one other person in the castle who could truly out-sneak Cassandra.

“ _Mom?_ ”

“Hello Rapunzel.” Arianna stepped out completely from the greenery with casual ease, looking around the place in curious recognition. “My, Cassie, doesn’t this bring back memories? I don’t think I’ve been here since you were twelve.” 

The queen’s face was a mask of loaded amusement as she eyed them from one to the other. The swordswoman’s alarm ebbed when she recognized the woman’s tone, it was the voice she always took whenever Cassandra got caught climbing roofs. Rapunzel however, did not possess the wisdom of such insight and was going into full, stuttering panic.

“Oh heeey mom, I- I didn’t know you c- came around here! Nice place huh?” The princess tried, hands on her hips and with an obvious faux-grin plastered on her face. “Cass wanted to show me the flowers here, because they’re so um, m- much bigger?”

“Did she now?”

Cassandra rolled her eyes.

“I think the cat is out of the bag, Raps.” She said wryly. It took Rapunzel a few seconds to remember the proverbial expression but tensed up after she did, her mouth straightening into a thin line. Cassandra turned to Arianna who looked uncharacteristically pleased with herself. “... you do not look surprised, your majesty.”

“I have eyes, Cassandra, and ears, and you were never really good at hiding your affections.” The queen replied lightly. “And I mean that as a good thing, dear.”

“I can explain!” Rapunzel whimpered. “We were going to tell you! But I had to prepare, I mean read up on the laws, well, it’s complicated- we just needed a little more time, I promise.” 

Arianna looked to her daughter with interest and Cassandra thought she saw a hint of parental pride in the deep-set, intelligent eyes. Rapunzel would sometimes forget that the queen kept account of her academic prowess with weekly updates from her tutors, just like she once had done with Cassandra. This meant Arianna had a decent guess to what her daughter had been researching in class. The princess fumed anxiously as she looked to the older woman, her whole body stiff in trepidation.

“You wanted to look up the legal ramifications of you taking a consort, and the required stipulations before breaking it to me and your father. A wise choice, if you had exercised the needed discretion.” Arianna clarified for her. “Luckily, both men involved are as dense as pudding in regard to this sort of matter. You have plenty of time to prepare.”

“You... don’t mind?”

“As a concept? No. But there are official and traditional details that need to be observed to spare you from future misunderstandings. Being with royalty can be a taxing, overwhelming thing, and it will likely get worse when Rapunzel steps into her official duties as heir apparent in a couple of years.” Arianna explained. “Nobles with eligible sons, _and_ a few daughters, will protest over an opportunity lost followed by the younger children of foreign royalty. It _is_ advantageous if all of us here are in agreement before we are beset by other proposals.”

Cassandra panicked a little at where the conversation was going. “Wait, isn’t that taking it a bit too far?” 

“Mom, we’ve only just started going out!” Rapunzel pressed between thin lips. “That sounds _really_ serious.”

“I’m saying I just walked in on you, which means others can too, and you need to be prepared for the consequences. I am not _against_ the both of you taking a shine to each other.” Arianna explained factually with a grin. “And honesty Rapunzel, I thought _you_ would be more excited about fighting for Cassie. Isn’t this your new thing?”

“Politics are scarier than swords.” Rapunzel mumbled and looked at her feet. 

“But the pen is mightier still. And I will be here for you.” Arianna said, cupping her daughter's face lovingly. Her expression was an image of empathy as her touch dispelled some of the justified dread. They hugged before the queen turned to her other child, which made Cassandra freeze. “Rapunzel, would you be a dear and fetch some tea and biscuits for us. We will wait for you here.”

The princess’s face broke down in relief as she nodded briskly. “I’m so glad you approve mom, it means the world to me.” She gave Cassandra’s hand a reassuring squeeze before hurrying away.

The silence in the wake of her bare feet was thick enough to cut with a dull knife.

“ _You_.” Arianna _laughed_.

Cassandra let out a long sigh and had the grace to look bashful. She rubbed the back of her neck and glanced up at the queen who seemed to be having the time of her life. Arianna’s eyes sparkled in well-controlled mischief, the gentle crow feet at her eyes taut in glee as she signaled for Cassandra to step closer. 

“Me.” She said with a deflated tune.

“I feel like it’s my parental prerogative to be nosy. Should I scold you for corrupting her, or Rapunzel for not keeping her hands off you, my dear? I am torn.”

“I didn’t intend for this to happen, if that helps.”

“Very few do. We don’t get to choose who we love, Cassandra. That’s both a blessing and a curse.” Arianna put a hand on her arm, the other rested firmly atop the gnarly vine-covered marble. “The fact that you’re not skulking around is a good sign. It means you’re serious.”

“I don’t skulk-”

“The shieldmaker used to have this pretty apprentice when you were about fifteen years old. I remember you breaking twelve shields in a month, which is remarkable considering you don’t use them.” 

Cassandra fell quiet really quick. Part of her destiny seemed to be to never get the last word when faced with der Sonne women. She considered the queen’s earlier words, frowning.

“You really don’t disapprove… at all?” She asked tentatively, uncertain of how the older woman would take her following words. “I do understand that I am hardly considered _eligible_ in the grand scheme of things.”

The face Arianna made was equal part solemnity and understanding. Neither of them were stupid and knew what this could entail. The queen however, seemed adamant and full of faith.

“And yet she made her choice. Not many get to do that when raised within a palace, you know, too little exposure to people beyond our parents’ walls and most never bother at all.” She mused. “Rapunzel’s circumstances are a rare exception and she doesn’t exactly do well with walls. She will walk this path if she has to, mine and Frederic’s approval be damned, but you _must_ meet her halfway for this to work. It has to be both of you, or none.” Arianna continued and her voice was steel. 

Cassandra swallowed hard. “I will not disappoint her.” She promised.

The queen nodded, then furrowed her brows critically. “And don’t sell yourself so short, Cassie. You don’t get to decide if you’re good enough for her, but I do hope you keep trying for as long as you are together. Naturally, the same goes for Rapunzel. You’re both worthy of each other as I’m in a position to know, so stop this nonsense.” 

“Wise words. I will reflect on them.” A small smile crossed her lips.

“ _Mother knows best_ , as the saying goes. I try my best, dear.” Arianna’s hand came to rest atop hers. The wind picked up and it felt as warm as the presence of the woman beside her, and in that moment Cassandra could see where Rapunzel had gotten her boundless spirit. “Truth is we rarely do. A mother is only human as she tries to understand the needs of a child. You’ll do well to remember that when it's your time.”

Cassandra nodded mutely, she balked a little at the mention of future children and a life that seemed a million years away. Her worries however, were not entirely dissipated. 

“The noble houses will talk.”

“The noble houses can stuff it or hang.” The queen huffed indignantly. “I will not barter with the happiness of my children. And that is final.”

Her words went like a hot spear through Cassandra which manifested in a wet, rattling choke. She refused to _sob_ in Arianna’s presence, but to be called- to hear the queen _say it_... The air felt painful as she shoved down what they both knew, into the weight which had no name between them. The older woman looked at her sympathetically.

“You’ve called me it twice, you know.” Arianna’s words were deliberately slow and wistful. “First when you were five years old, and when you got sick with a fever at six. I treasure the memories.”

“I-- I’m- ”

“Come Cassie, if Rapunzel gets her will you’ll eventually be able to say it in public, but right now there’s only the two of us here. And you’re no longer an uptight teenager with something to prove.” 

She looked helplessly at Arianna, the memories of a dark study and gentle arms holding her small body danced in her mind, foggy but heavy with pain. _Thank you_ felt pitifully inadequate and would only earn herself a scolding, because it was never gratitude that gave Arianna such joy. Theirs was not a balance of convenience but something far deeper, and so after all these years, Cassandra found her courage and spoke.

Cassandra called Arianna mother for the third time when she was twenty-three years old. Rapunzel arrived shortly after carrying a basket of tea and cakes, and stopped short when she saw the two women she loved standing together with tears in their eyes. They looked so happy. Her mother in particular looked radiant like the summer’s end. Behind them, the sun dipped into the horizon and a million gems broke over the darkening sea. They gestured towards her and she went to them, stepping into a hug which held all she knew to be family. And that, Rapunzel thought, was worth fighting for.

***

**Epilogue:** **Between Everywhere and Nowhere At All**

-2 years later-

The signs of late spring were long behind them when Cassandra emerged from her cabin to the deck. The night had seen them through gusts of hard winds from the west, and she thought morosely of the extra calculations needed to correct their course. The Eversun Coast had shrunk to a narrow flat of land behind them as the royal brig _Nassau_ cut through tall, frothy waves towards the northern sea lane where they would join up with a joint Ingvarri and Coronan patrol fleet. 

It was barely past morning and she could already feel trickles of sweat down her back as the sun sheared from above. The day was going to be a swelter. Luckily, she had changed out of her uniform and settled for a loose, plain shirt and jerkin, leaving her royal navigator’s badge hanging from her neck. She greeted a few of the sailors as she made her way to the mast and began the long climb towards the crow’s nest. The roping was different from her last ship and she took care to find good footing, placing bare feet steadily against tightly wound rope. A cabin boy greeted her on top, seated on the floor and scribbling onto a few pieces of paper, his cap and shirt askew.

“Ho, lieutenant.” He nodded, stuttering over the title.

“Ho, Jani.” She replied, heaving herself feet-first into the nest. “What do you have there?”

The boy grinned, his uneven teeth flashing. “A letter. For a girl in Friedeport.”

“That so?” She smiled easily and unpacked her own satchel of sextant, notebook, compass and spyglass to ready herself for work. A sudden brisk wave to the hull side sent them careening starboard, both boy and navigator swore as the dip abated. When she looked up again, the last speckle of land had vanished and all she could see was the open sea. The wind was fair today and the ship would make good speed. 

The passage was a good three weeks to Mittnehavn and then another six across the lane. It would be close to midsummer when they finally saw Coronan waters again. The summer markets would be in full swing and the city brimming with tradesfolk. Her father was probably already dividing his men to shore up the city guard while mother hosted yearly reviews with the guilds. It was a busy time of the year, and Rapunzel would be in a summer dress with lilacs in her hair. 

They had said their good-byes two nights ago and Cassandra was yet to shake the vision of the princess asleep amidst rumpled sheets. In the morning, after rousing slowly, Cassandra had let Rapunzel help her dress into uniform, leaving her swords for last which were expertly fastened by artful, lingering hands. Breakfast had been a quiet affair and far too quickly, it was over. They had parted by the second gate and the trail of green eyes followed her until she was steady at sea. She hoped the day would be kind to Rapunzel in her work to aid the King. 

Jani stumbled up to stand beside her, his youthful face open in wonder at the adventure ahead.

“Do you think we will see the Ice Witch of Arendelle?” He asked excitedly. “They say she rides across the North Sea on a steed of silver.”

“Wouldn’t that make for a grand tale to bring home.” Cassandra laughed and lifted her spyglass to the eye. She looked to the love and home behind her, and ahead towards the horizon she was yet to breach, and in the middle of everywhere and nowhere at all, she found herself at peace. 

***

_“Love does not consist of gazing at each other,_

_but in looking outward together_ _in the same direction.”_

**-Antoine de Saint-Exupéry**

_***_

_Mother Knows Best_

End

***

  
  


**Additional Lore:**

**Rapunzel der Sonne I** , also historically known as the _Sunfire Queen_ , succeeded her father in her late twenties after the pacification of the Dread Moon incident. Her ascension was not without controversy, as many of the kingdom’s lords protested the impropriety and untraditional ways of both her education and choice of a spouse. She gained a clear majority in support however for her success at foreign diplomacy which secured Corona a great many advantages in an era of fast-paced change and discovery. She was also known as a dedicated patron of the arts and was known to be a skilled painter herself. Her gift of creativity was shared with her oldest child, who went on to found the Sol Institute of Art and Music, which became renowned and drew talents from all over the world. 

In regard to her family, it was a well known fact that the fastest way to be guaranteed a single-way ticket out of the castle was to voice any form of negative opinion in regard of the queen’s choice of a wife. A few statesmen learned this the harsh way of simply finding their belongings packed and ready at the castle gate with a royal messenger to relay their termination. However, it needs to be said that such comments were exceptionally rare as Cassandra der Sonne (married name) was a respected admiral and revered by many within the military for her campaigns. She rose to prominence during the incidents over the Arendelleni Sea and reached the rank of admiral after the battle of the Blackmoon. Her closest officers called her ‘Eight-Slices-Cass’, which still puzzles historians as to if this refers to her famed skills with a sword, or simply her personal way of eating apples.

It is also worth mentioning that the couple’s marriage held wide support among Corona’s populace, romanticized by folktales and songs alike. Several historical texts describe how the young princess Rapunzel would personally join the sailors’ families by the docks to welcome her beloved when her ship returned to harbour, only missing this opportunity twice through their long years together. This memory of the Sunfire Queen’s love for her admiral is immortalized in the painting ‘ _A Promise by The Pier_ ’ by Lind Roodburg, and hangs in the Royal Galleria to this day. It portrays the scene of the couple’s reunion after the first battle of the Dread Moon and is praised for its dynamic brushwork, giving the princess’s run towards Cassandra a feeling of flight.

 **Vyssja** means to lull or to dandle, usually done to young children to put them to sleep. Cassandra used this weapon as her primary through her military career until she hung her blades on the wall in old age. The weapon remained on display in the private apartment of the royal family for a great many years, as its lady ordered it to only ‘ _be claimed by the hands of a daring spirit matched to a kind and curious heart_ ’. It remained a family treasure until it was gifted to one of her great grandchildren who asked to be sent to Ingvar to study the art of the northern sword.

 **Cassandra’s Sword** became the official name of Rúna’s lifelong primary. It was well-used through many conflicts until broken during the The Sixthpoint War, in the fifth year of Queen Rapunzel’s rule, and the blade was taken back to Ingvar to be reforged. The Ingvarri iron used to strengthen the Coronan blacksteel gave the blade an uncanny blue tint and some came to believe the sword was inhabited by the spirit of a glacier fox. It was passed down later to Rúna Signesdottir’s second child, who in turn gifted it to a daughter of their own when they came of age to voyage upon the seas.

**Author’s Notes**

**Things I would have done differently:**

_Chapter one and two_ should have been one single chapter, take and add a few segments. As I have previously mentioned, this was not meant to be a multipart story, and the initial pacing like structure suffered because of it. 

_Making the story darker_ : This could have been done with a bit of work, with a few additional chapters. I never really went into why Cassandra went to Ingvarr to study, but a large part of the backstory I had in mind was in fact that Cass did have a lot of problems growing up in regard to the other castle kids. She was not ostracized, but clearly stuck out amidst the clearly hierarchical divided system of noble born children and kids of the castle staff. Neither group (nor their parents) were really comfortable about her privileged position of being Arianna’s ward. Ingvar was as much about her chosen path of education as it was about getting her away from the court during her formative years, because honestly, she deserved better. I’ve dropped hints of this along the way but didn’t really explore this branch of the story. For a longer story, I would also have liked to develop Rapunzel more and the oddities and psychological scars that come with growing up with very limited social exposure. Here I mostly used it for humour, which makes me feel like I owe her a story of her own.

**General thoughts:**

_Mother Knows Best_ obviously refers to Arianna as a mother. On the contrary to the narcissistic song of Gothel doing self-praises in the movie, here, Arianna projects the opposite. She’s humble in her role and tries hard to be supportive, even when surprised. She listens and adjusts and wants happiness for them both. She is exactly what Cassandra needed and everything Rapunzel had hoped for. 

_Rúna and Cassandra:_ These two would have been good for each other. This was very important to me, as I wanted Cassandra to have walked away from an equally good and meaningful life as the one she will have by staying with Rapunzel. Cassandra would have made a great adventurer and seafarer, and she would have retired a well-known cartographer. I would probably have made up some ridiculous pirate-ish nickname for her.

 _Rapunzel and Cassandra:_ These two will have one heck of a challenge ahead. There is little doubt in my mind that Cassandra would probably have had an easier life with Rúna, with no politics or court intrigues to worry about. I don’t ever see Cassandra becoming shrewd and cunning at playing this kind of games, but Rapunzel will be learning from the best (Arianna), and has literally zero cares about prestige or propriety. She was later named the Sunfire queen rather than Sunshine queen for good reasons.

 _The royal spymaster:_ Is actually Arianna. I never made a thing out of this, but I dropped that the spymaster is a she, and well, this is the reason the woman can out-sneak Cass. Had I made the story longer and this revelation been relevant to the plot, I would have put it in text.

 _Nicknames:_ The captain and Arianna call Cassandra ‘Cassie’, Rúna uses her full name (because she loves her name) or ‘storm-eyes’ while the classic moniker ‘Cass’ is Rapunzel exclusive.

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel more at peace because I gave Cass what I think she deserved. Though I also feel like I owe Raps a story of her own. *facepalm*
> 
> TIP: Don't skip the additional lore if you enjoyed this. You might find more than you bargained for in there :D.
> 
> I'm glad you guys enjoyed it!

**Author's Note:**

> My beta: Did you make Cass into Assassin's Creed Kassandra?
> 
> Me, howling: YOU CANNOT STOP ME!!!


End file.
